Eastern Sun In The Western Sky
by Ren Estera
Summary: "It is time you learned to care about someone else besides yourself, Kol." His mother trained an admonishing gaze on him, eyes hard and filled with hurt at the person her beloved son had become. Said son wiped the blood of the unconscious girl off his lips, dark eyes challenging his mother. "Make me." KolXOC(Elijah) DISCONTINUED
1. Track 1: Jay

**Author's note: This story will have a slight AH setting.**

**So I thought I should give this a shot. Writing a TVD story that is. I've looked around at what people had already wrote to get an idea of what is already out there. And I also did some research on supernatural things and then it hit me that no one has written one involving magic, beliefs and supernatural creatures from other parts of the world haha **

**So in addition to pitching my slice of the pie to the fandom, I also hope to be able to highlight some traditions and beliefs from Asia, which I am hoping the readers will enjoy. I'm guessing most people who will probably read this is from the west and hope they won't be turned off by the Asian influences I will be putting in this.**

**I hope I will have your support. This will be my first time attempting a story for a TV series instead of an anime or manga. Hopefully I won't stumble over my own foot.**

* * *

_~Eastern Sun In The Western Sky~_

_A friend is never known till a man has need_

_-Chinese proverb-_

* * *

Elijah enjoyed music as much as he enjoyed literature.

The lulling melody that carries you off to a dream, the beats that make your heart race in anticipation of the overture.

It has been a long time since he took time to listen to any of the melodies that pervaded the world. With so many things going on with the Gilbert family, the Salvatores and even his own family, Elijah hardly had the time to relax and just enjoy music for awhile now.

But with the recent turn of events marked prominently by the return of all his siblings and even his mother, Elijah really felt the need to just relax. Relax his thoughts that have not rested for ages, and to contemplate the events in a tranquil manner. He was overjoyed at the fact that perhaps his family has a chance to be one again, but there was this nagging feeling in him that would not leave him alone, that not all is what it seems.

He needed to take his mind off things.

He appreciated the creation that modern man had invented, an MP3 player. It allowed him to enjoy music on-the-go, something he could not have done in the previous ages. But even then, Elijah enjoyed the raw music and sounds from a live performer much more than a well studio-produced piece can ever provide.

So it was to his greatest pleasure that he had come across a flyer being handed out on the streets of Mystic Falls, by students of Whitmore College that was located a mere several hours away.

He thanked the young girl and looked at the flyer in his hand with mild interest and curiosity.

It was a flyer for a school event held by Whitmore College's music department, featuring student performers from their very own college as well as other visiting schools.

It was to be held two days from now on, and Elijah thought that he could really use a break from all the constant bickering of his siblings and the watchful eye of his mother, as much as he loved his family.

Even a 1000 year old immortal like him had a tipping point.

He did not know whether he will expect good music there or not, but he nevertheless also believed in giving everything a chance. It was time he caught up with what young musicians were doing nowadays, in any case. He had been quite the music connoisseur back in the day, but he had lost touch with that world over recent decades.

Returning back to the Mikaelson mansion, as they now call it even though Niklaus was the one who built it, the sharp eyes of his younger brother Kol quickly caught sight of the flyer in his hand.

"What is that?" The mischievous one of their family asked, raising an inquisitive brow at him.

Their sister Rebekah looked up momentarily from the magazine she was reading before quickly deciding that she was not interested.

"This, dear brother, is a flyer." Elijah could not help the upturn of his lips when Kol narrowed his eyes at him.

"I am quite aware of it being a flyer, brother dear," the ever present impish grin of his brother returned as if it was never gone, "but for what?"

Elijah passed the flyer to his brother, not needing it anymore for he already had all the details in his head. The mind is one man's greatest treasure.

He watched as Kol's eyes quickly scanned over the contents before asking. "Interested?" He already knew the answer to that though.

"Not really, no." Kol grinned back at him before crumpling the piece of paper and throwing it into the tiny trash can that stood on the other side of the room.

The piece of paper went in with a soft _plop_.

Elijah shrugged and straightened his suit. "Suit yourself."

Kol quirked a brow at him whilst Rebekah shook her head at Elijah's unintended pun. He never did quite understood what constitutes a good joke or pun, never having fully acquired full out laughter from the people he presented them to. It was something he was still mastering, sadly, even after having a thousand years to practice.

The day of the event came by leisurely, with nothing new or hectic going on in Mystic Falls that got in the way of his attending. He had half expected something to happen, that will force him to cancel his plans. But nothing did. It was almost suspiciously calm, considering how things never rested in Mystic Falls.

The event was as Elijah imagined, with a mixture of loud music and moving ballads from musicians all over the country.

The louder ones caused an unpleasant feeling in his sensitive ears, particularly if they were not so talented to begin with.

But he silently appreciated each and every one of the performers, applauding their courage to perform, whether they were good at it or not. A thousand years of living might have had made him nearly immune to all feelings of nervousness, but these young humans had barely started out on their lives yet they found tremendous courage to walk up onto a stage with hundreds of eyes on them.

Elijah appreciated such courage, even if he did not appreciate their singing.

As his sharp eyes and ears noted the flaws and talents of each performer and group that came and went, his interest was particularly peaked by one group. Or rather, that group's singer.

Their group was named Oriental Blue, and Elijah figured it might have something to do with the mixture of ethnicity in their members, quietly noting the physical features of the singer and the guitarist. They were of eastern descent, with their prominent ebony hair and eyes and peachy skin. The guitarist however, he had slightly darker skin than that of the singer whose skin reminded Elijah of sun kissed peaches.

They performed a ballad that they had written, and Elijah felt a sense of tranquility and peace wash over him as he listened to their song. More particularly, the voice of the lead.

A young woman with ebony hair and similarly dark eyes of short stature. But despite her small figure, her voice carried a power that surprised Elijah and brought back a sense of nostalgia and memory. It awakened in him a calm that he could not possibly experience on his own.

He had not heard this song before, no. But he had heard a voice just like hers before.

Many, many years ago, in a land far, far away from here.

Though the features of this woman now was different from that of the one he knew centuries past, the lulling voice that brought out strange emotions within even a controlled 1000 year old immortal was unmistakable.

A seedling of something akin to suspicion dug itself into Elijah's stomach, and he felt the urge to approach the girl, to talk to her and confirm his suspicions. Where he usually thought things through thoroughly before acting, Elijah acted before thinking it through as he weaved through the mingling crowd towards the girl.

For in his mind, cogs and wheels were already churning, weaving goals and intents that was not known to Elijah's consciousness. But his subconscious already knew what he wanted, even though his suspicions could be wrong.

* * *

"Miss Jay?"

Jay started from the sudden sound of her name, a drop of juice threatening to run down her chin. Quickly wiping her chin, Jay turned around to find a man dressed in a dark suit.

"Oh yes, that's me." Jay smiled, extending her hand to shake the man's hand but was surprised when he raised it to his lips instead. She blushed, not expecting such a formal act.

"Elijah Mikaelson. I voted for your group tonight."

"Oh, thank you so much for your vote . It means a lot to us." Jay said, hands folded neatly in front of her before bowing her head and torso slightly in thanks.

"Please, just Elijah. And not at all. Your group deserved it." Elijah replied, noting the way she bowed her head in thanks to him. "Where are your other members, if I may ask?"

Jay laughed as she thought up of an answer. She had a habit of laughing to buy time whenever she didn't know how to approach a situation. "I'm not really sure…they are probably around somewhere." Jay replied, feeling nervous and silly in front of this man for a reason she wasn't quite sure of.

He radiated an aura of power that demanded respect from those around him, and frankly, Jay did not know how she was supposed to act around people like him. Dressed in a neatly pressed dark suit, with equally neatly kept hair, this Elijah Mikaelson had a regal air surrounding him, one that contrasted starkly to her normality.

As inconspicuously as she could, Jay ran her fingers through her hair which was loosely pulled into a ponytail, hoping that her light make-up had not melted between the time she performed and now.

Elijah gave a short smile at her answer.

A part of Jay's mind found it curious that a man of his status, whatever it was it certainly wasn't a mere commoner like her, took an interest in speaking with her beyond commenting on her group's performance. He asked various basic questions like where she came from, her studies and reasons for choosing America, and her culture. He was especially keen on talking with her about the cultures of the world and her interest in music, asking about her musical history, which wasnt' much to be honest. She learnt the violin when she was young, but beyond that, her talents lay in singing and writing lyrics.

But Jay was used to questions like these. Being a foreign student, she gained a bit of attention from others around her who were curious about where she came from and why she was here. But they usually lost interest after a while when they discovered she was just as normal as them and had satisfied their curiosity or answered their stereotypical questions about her ethnicity.

And Elijah Mikaelson seemed no different from those to her at first, until she noticed he seemed genuinely interested in discussing with her about culture and music, constantly going back to the topic and bringing up questions that dug deeper and deeper.

"It isn't often I get a chance to talk with someone else from another part of the world and learn about their culture." Elijah answered her unasked question, noticing the confused but nonetheless happy looks she occasionally gave him.

"Oh, um, sorry." She laughed, the initial nervousness of talking with him having faded as they talked more. It came to her mind that he must be a very knowledgeable man, who constantly sought to explore and expand his knowledge of everything. She was about to ask him about his interests and why he was at the event here tonight when the emcee took to the stage, announcing that the votes had been tallied and they were going to move onto the awards ceremony.

Knowing that it was their time to head back to their respective seats and areas, Elijah took out a card and handed it over to her. "Here's my name card. I have some research and books I have collected which I very much would like you to see, if you have the time."

Jay took the card politely with both hands, staring at the name printed in beautiful cursive.

_Elijah Mikaelson_

"It has been nice speaking to you Miss Jay. I hope we'll have the chance to speak again."

Jay watched for a moment as the mysterious and respectable man walked away before she began heading towards the seating section reserved for performers.

Joining up with her group members, she greeted them and together they waited anxiously as the award ceremony proceeded.

Ryan, who was the drummer of their group, shook his legs and tapped his fingers against his knees rapidly, a bad habit of his that occurred whenever he was nervous or bored. The guitarist of their group, a Korean exchange student who used the name John Kim slapped Ryan's knees, mentioning that it was rude and bad luck to shake his legs like that, that all of his money will fall away with each shake of his legs. Their keyboardist Clementine laughed at John, making fun of his superstitious behavior whilst Cecilie their bassist just rolled her eyes.

Jay was listening intently to the words of the emcee, fingers tapping her arms impatiently as she wondered and hoped that her name would be called. Earning an award will give her a serious advantage to her award-less history, having only started seriously pursuing singing in the past year.

And when it did, her heart leaped.

"Performer number 034, Jay of Whitmore College!" The emcee called and Jay was ushered onto stage excitedly by her band members.

She had received the award for Best Singer while Oriental Blue took second place for Best Group.

As Jay stood on the stage alongside the other groups and performers, soaking in the claps and cheers from the audience, she made out the figure of the one called Elijah Mikaelson in the far back.

Their eyes coming into contact, Jay nodded and smiled giddily. Elijah returned it with a regal upturn of his lips in.

And Elijah was not surprised she took home that prize. For that voice she owned held a power that was clearly unknown to the owner herself. A voice that can sway kings and rulers, and even the world, should she choose to.

* * *

"I can't believe we took second place at that thing last weekend!" Ryan exclaimed with disbelief as he dumped his bag onto the table, settling himself beside John who had his head buried in his engineering books. "I swear that thing is rigged. We shoulda have taken first!"

Jay shrugged her shoulders, poking at her lunch. "Really? I thought we wouldn't get anything."

"Says the one who received [Best Singer]." Cecilie dragged out, head lolling on her arms lazily.

"Oh come on guys, we should just appreciate the fact that we at least went away with two prizes!" Clementine the ever optimistic one said. Clementine moved over to Whitmore from Indianapolis. There were great universities in that area such as Purdue, which Jay failed to get into with her horrid math grades, which a smart girl like Clementine could easily get into. Clementine claimed that she just wanted to move far away from her home for at least a couple of years, thus choosing to come all the to Whitmore instead. She was always optimistic, which bothered Cecile at times.

"Speaking of which, this guy gave me his card that night…" Jay said, retrieving the card from her purse and showing it to her friends. They all leaned in, eyes peering curiously at the card.

"Elijah Mikaelson? What a weird name." Ryan said with a quirk of his brow. Ryan was from Mystic Falls, which Jay heard was not too far away from Whitmore College. After graduating high school, he had applied to Whitmore and was now staying at the dormitories here. The drummer of their group, Ryan was always energetic although he was immature sometimes, dealing with everything like a kid would. Go with the flow, he would say. Until the deadline for his project was a two days away, then he started regretting it and begged the others for help.

"Why'd he give it to you for?" John asked, finally closing his books to take part in their conversations. John was from Korea and came to the United States to pursue a degree in engineering. Or at least he was thinking of it. He has yet to fully decide between being a musician and doing what his parents wanted him to do, which was become an engineer. No one could pronounce his name right, so he chose the nickname John to be used, a situation that was similar to Jay.

"I dunnoe. Said something about wanting me to look at something for him I think…" Jay said, taking a bite of her apple.

"You gonna call him?" Cecilie asked, her head propped against her arm. Cecilie, like Clementine, is an American. Jay could not really remember which part of America she was from as she had yet to fully understand the geography of this gargantuan land. Perhaps she was from Mystic Falls as well? Or was it Virginia? She couldn't remember, and would have to ask though she feared the repercussions. Cecilie comes off as a very lazy girl at times, finding the need to sleep at every occasion. But she had the temper of an extremely angry lion when her buttons were pushed.

The four of them got to know each other through the college's music department during the start of the year. They had seen flyers for the event they just performed at, and the music department were looking for students interested in performing and attending the event. They had went to sign-up individually, at first, but one of the teachers came up with the idea to group them together, thus introducing them to each other. It has been several weeks since then, and they had spent a lot of time together as a group during the weekends and their free time, practicing for the event and perfecting their original song.

Honestly, Jay thought Clementine was crazy when she suggested they perform an original song, since that is what most of the other performers will be doing. The problem Jay saw with that is is the fact that they hardly knew each other as a group and they did not have a whole lot of time to rehearse a song and write one. But they did it, which honestly surprised Jay. Though considering the long hours they put into practicing, perhaps the surprise has been diluted.

That and the fact that the three of them were amazingly talented at what they did. People at college really took things to another level.

"Thinking." Jay furrowed her brows, passing the card over to Ryan who wanted to take a closer look.

"He could be a kidnapper, you know?" Ryan said, handing the card back to her.

"Why would a kidnapper attend an event like that?" Cecilie rolled her eyes at the lack of intelligence Ryan displayed.

"If it was my home country, he would most likely be a scammer." Jay said dryly, staring at the card in her hands and the phone number written below it.

But Elijah seemed to be a really honest person and sincere. Then again, that is how most scammers and top-notch criminals looked. Still, she can always make a quick getaway before meeting him at the location if she deemed the place hardly safe. She was relatively street smart.

She supposed giving a call wouldn't hurt.

* * *

"So I'll pick you up later, alright?" Ryan called out after Jay as she stepped out of his car.

"Yea, I'll let you know an hour ahead. Thanks for the ride!" Jay smiled in gratitude at the boyish 19 year old in the car.

"Yea, no probs. I'm just gonna go hang around town, probably at the grill. See ya."

Shutting the door, Jay watched Ryan drive off for a moment, wondering what 'the grill' was. But she assumed it was some sort of restaurant, and quickly dismissed it as hardly important since she won't be here for long.

Mystic Falls.

She wasn't familiar with this place, being a foreign student and all and this is her first time visiting. She thought that the name of the place strangely gave her a Twilight-ish feel that caused her to grimace.

Ryan had been nice enough to drive her over, saying he didn't really mind since he gets a chance to see his other friends and his parents. Jay groaned to herself when she realized she could have asked Ryan to drive her all the way to the address, but the thought slipped her mind and obviously did not cross Ryan's either. The both of them had slightly dimwitted tendencies to them.

Fishing out a piece of paper from the pockets of her navy blue shorts, she read the address that was given to her by Elijah over the phone. Deciding against spending hours getting lost in search of the place, Jay hailed down a taxi and showed the driver the address.

"So you're headed to the Mikaelson's place, eh?" The taxi driver asked rhetorically, looking at her through the back mirror.

"Um, yea." She replied with a small smile, not having much to say.

"You lucky girl, being in league with them. Those people are loaded." The taxi driver said with a laugh.

"I'm not really in 'league' with them…"Jay trailed off as the driver just went on talking with himself about the latest developments in the economy.

As the cab drove up the driveway of the mention, Jay's eyes went wide and pressed her face to the cab window to get a better look at the 'Mikaelson's place.'

'Holy crap, they are loaded!' Jay thought to herself in disbelief. Paying the driver, she got out of the car and looked around, amazement filling her at the grandeur of the driveway and front door itself. All thoughts of Elijah being a possible human trafficker flew out of her mind. She resisted grabbing her phone and taking shots of the place, for fear of being sued for violation of privacy.

Wiping her palms against her shorts, Jay took shaky steps towards the front door. Her heart thudded in excitement and nervousness. Going to a stranger's place which also happens to be expensive beyond her imagination, Jay was naturally filled with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Her family back home was rich, or at least upper-middle class, but this Elijah Mikaelson was on another level.

Flexing her nervous fingers and quickly checking over herself to make sure she was presentable, she pressed on the doorbell.

No one answered for awhile, and Jay rolled back and forth on her heels nervously. What should she do now? Should she ring again? Would it be rude? Would it bother the high class residents of this magnificent abode? She always imagined rich people did not like the doorbell.

Biting her lips, she was about to ring again when the door opened and she was met with sinfully alluring eyes.

"Ah…" Jay started in surprise, suddenly forgetting how she was supposed to act.

The man before her had dark hair and even darker eyes which roamed over her figure shamelessly. His lips lifted upwards into a playful smirk at the sight of her and one of his brows raised questioningly at her.

"And you are?" He asked with an accent that Jay could not help but find incredibly wonderful to hear. She absent-mindedly remembered that Elijah too had an accent, but the one she was hearing now sent tingles around her ears.

"Oh! Um, right. Sorry!" Jay squeezed her eyes close in embarrassment before forcing them open again and sticking out her hand to the man before her. She hoped that it wasn't sweaty.

"I'm Jay. I'm looking for a Elijah Mikaelson…?" She introduced herself before stating the reason of her visit though she suddenly felt doubtful of everything she is doing, wondering if she was at the right place.

The man smiled charmingly at her, taking her hand only to lift it up to his lips and brushing them against the back of her hand. "Kol Mikaelson."

Ah, she is at the right place then, remembering the similar gesture Elijah did when they first met.

"Nice to meet you ." Jay said with a smile, pulling her hand back to herself only to find that Kol Mikaelson wasn't releasing his hold just yet.

"Please, just call me Kol." He flashed a charming smile at her, finally returning her hand to her. "You are looking for my brother, Elijah?"

"Oh, yes. I was asked to meet him here." Jay replied nervously, unused to being gazed at blatantly in such a way. Her hands wrangled amongst themselves behind her, as she started to sway slightly from leg to leg unconsciously. Another bad habit of hers that reared its head when she was especially nervous.

"Is he home?" Jay asked without really processing her thoughts. She smacked herself mentally. Of course he should be home, why else would he ask her to meet him at his mansion at this time?

Before Kol could say anything, another figure came to the doorway. This time, it was Elijah.

"Ah, Miss Jay. Forgive me for causing you to wait." Elijah said in apology, eyes flickering to Kol who stood beside him, a smirk still plastered on his face.

"I see you met my younger brother Kol."

"Oh, he's your younger brother?" She had figured as much, now noting the slight resemblance in their features. Similar dark hair and eyes, the chin and jaw structure…not to mention their family name.

"Please, come in." Elijah said quickly, realizing that their guest was still standing out on the porch.

"Thank you."

She stepped into their foyer, mentally grimacing the fact that her shoes probably left some dirty prints on their impeccably clean floor. The door closed with a resounding thud behind her and she turned around to see Kol leaning against the now closed door.

"So what is she doing here brother?" Kol asked with amusement, eyes flickering to his brother but finally resting on the short Asian woman before him.

"Miss Jay here is quite knowledgeable about music as well as Eastern traditions and culture." Elijah said, placing a light hand onto her shoulder. "I invited her here so that I may show her some of the research I have collected during my travels and hope to receive her opinions on them."

"I'm not that knowledgeable." Jay said with a nervous laugh. "And please, just Jay will do."

"Very well, Jay," Elijah extended an arm out to his side, indicating the direction they would take. "Shall we then?"

"Yea, sure." Jay turned to give a small smile and to wave goodbye at Kol, who returned her gesture with an amused smirk and the light wiggling of his raised fingers.

"See you around." Kol said with a chuckle as she walked away on her short Asian legs.

Interesting. Very interesting indeed.

* * *

**Reviews are very much appreciated :3 **


	2. Track 2: Jay Of The Orients

_~Eastern Sun In The Western Sky~_

_Track 2: Jay Of The Orients_

_~Like the weather, one's fortune may change by the evening~_

_-Luu Mengzheng-_

* * *

"What is your real name, if I may ask? Jay, after all, is a nickname is it not?" Elijah handed Jay a glass of water, taking a sip from his own glass of whiskey.

"My real name?" Jay repeated, not feeling very inclined to say it. "It's really long and embarrassing…I prefer it if people just called me Jay." She never told anyone she met here her real name. She felt awfully embarrassed with it, even when she was in her own country. Her parents had picked a name that most people never came across before.

Elijah sensed her reluctance to reveal her real name to him so he just gave her a wry smile and decided to not persist. He placed his whiskey down onto the table before walking over to one of the many shelves of the room they are in.

It was a library of sorts, with tall shelves lining against the walls. Books of all shapes and colors filled these shelves, and Jay wondered if they had all the books of the world in here. Tattered pieces of what appeared to be old maps were framed neatly and hung on the walls, and a fairly large globe was placed on the center table. There was a fireplace in the room, though it remained unlit.

Jay walked over to the fireplace and looked at it curiously. This is the first time she saw one. Nobody had fireplaces in her country since it was scorching hot the whole year. She wanted to light it, just to try it out but resisted asking Elijah if she can, feeling slightly childish.

"So is it just you and your brother Kol who lives here?" Jay asked, wanting to break the silence a little and distract herself from the fireplace that constantly called to her inner child to light it. She peered at the books and framed pieces of antiques lined along the wall, refraining from putting her curious fingers on anything lest they were very important.

"Well, no," Elijah answered, still flipping through books, in search of something. "I have two other brothers who live here as well as a younger sister. And my mother too, of course."

"A large family." Jay commented, comparing to her simple family of four, including her. She did not miss the fact that Elijah did not mention a father, though she was smart enough to not ask.

Elijah finally looked up at her and motioned the girl over, a book of sorts in his hand.

Following his previous action of placing his drink down on the table, Jay walked over to the taller man. She estimated that he was probably about a 180cm, give or take, a staggering 20cm taller than her short figure. She had to crane her neck up just to look at him when they spoke.

"I picked this up during one of my travels from a merchant of sorts." He decided to leave out the part where the merchant was actually a shaman hailing from Mongolia several hundred years back.

Jay looked over the loosely bounded book, flipping through the pages and gazed curiously at the pictures and diagrams on each page. It was more of a collection of parchments that were fastened together by weathered strings.

There were many things she did not understand in the pages, though she recognized a few written traditional Chinese characters as well as the drawings of certain Chinese gods. Most of the writings in there were written in traditional Chinese, which Jay could not comprehend too well. She could hardly read simplified Chinese as it is, much less traditional. But she knew that the writings in the parchments were old, and valuable.

"Oh, wow…where did you get this?" Jay asked. "My father would die to get a glimpse of this." Jay heard from her parents before that her ancestors were from China though over the centuries with war and sickness plaguing different lands, they had moved about to different areas, mixing with many others from different parts of Asia. As far as she knew, she probably had some Japanese or Mongolian blood within her. Her grandparents were born in what is now Singapore, whilst her parents and her were born and raised in now what is known as Malaysia, a quirky country located beside the bustling Singapore, resulting in her having more Southeast Asian features than her ancestors did. A distant cousin of hers was even half Thai, so she had darker skin than Jay's peachy skin.

Elijah smiled wryly, choosing to deflect her further questioning of the source of the book by asking her about the various Chinese gods that were depicted in the book. He asked about whether they still worshiped these gods, such as the Kitchen God or the famed God of War Guan-Yu. Jay, to be honest, was having a slightly hard time answering his questions. She knew about their traditions and beliefs but she wasn't exactly a follower unlike her father who is Taoist while her mother is a Buddhist.

Whenever they went to temples to pray, she just did whatever she was asked to, but she never had faith, not knowing who she is praying to. It was done out of tradition rather than faith, for her at least.

As she racked her brain for any info she might have on Elijah's question pertaining to the core differences between Taoist worship and Buddhist worship, Jay was relieved when Elijah suddenly changed the topic, as they turned to a page that depicted a woman in ancient Chinese clothing, holding something that looks like a lute.

"What do you know about songsters?" He asked, dark eyes gazing at her for a moment before turning to the shelves.

"Songsters?" She can't say she knew anything about them. "Aren't they wandering musicians?"

"Yes, they are…," Elijah replied slowly, attention in the tome he was holding in his arms. "They first appeared during the 19th century in the southern United States, but what people did not know is that they were around long before that."

Jay could not help a quiet snort. "And how did you know then?"

Elijah looked up at her, eyes hard but a mysterious smile lined his lips. "I have my sources."

Jay stared at Elijah, a sense of mystery wrapping itself Elijah and the calm look in his eyes that spoke years and years of experience and confidence.

Elijah closed the tome in his hands, before picking up his glass of whiskey and taking a small sip. "They were not known as songsters back then, just mere musicians. Similar to the ones in the 19th century, many accompanied pharmacists, aiding in the selling of salves and elixirs to the common people through the telling of wonders of their elixirs through their music."

Jay tilted her head in curiosity and confusion. She wasn't too familiar with any of the things he is speaking of at the moment. As far as she knew about songsters, they were wandering musicians who had influenced much of blues music, and the songstress dressphere from Final Fantasy X-2. A sense of nostalgia lingered on her lips as she recalled the hours spent on that game years ago.

"They were also known as another form of shamans, able to summon spirits and placing curses on people with their chants."

"Well, I heard of that being done before in ceremonies and rituals but not really through songsters…" Jay added, watching the melting of the ice cubes in her glass. She didn't believe in such things though. "It was mostly done by priests."

"It's a mostly ignored tale of history; being shadowed by other more popular and known figures like shamans and witches." Elijah said with a dry smile.

Twisting his glass of whiskey in his hands, Elijah peered at her. "Are you a believer, Jay?" He asked and Jay looked up with a blank face.

"No…not really." She wasn't even sure what Elijah meant when he said believer. Believer of what? Of magic and the supernatural? Of whether there is a God and Heaven?

"Are you?" She asked back, just for the heck of it.

With an enigmatic smile, Elijah gave her his answer. "I believe in that it is alright to not believe, but never doubt."

Cryptic words, Jay thought to herself, but oddly, made sense.

She was about to ask him to elaborate on his words when they were interrupted by a voice from the door.

"Elijah, mother is asking for you." A woman with blonde hair spoke, hands placed against her hips.

"Ah, Rebekah. Jay, this is my younger sister Rebekah." Elijah introduced the two of them out of politeness. "Rebekah, this is Jay. She goes to Whitmore College."

"Hi, nice to meet you." Jay smiled, happy to meet another female though her happiness was cut short when Rebekah rolled her eyes in disinterest at her.

"Whatever." She said before giving Elijah one last look . "Mother's upstairs in her study." And with that she walked off.

Jay was left slightly speechless at the way Rebekah quickly brushed her off. It kinda hurt, even though she didn't know the woman. She was a bit on the sensitive side, taking minor things to heart.

A laugh brought her attention back to the door. This time, it was Kol who stood there.

"I see you met our charming sister." He said with a smirk, leaning against the door frame.

Elijah sighed, resisting the urge to rub his temples. "Forgive my sister's manners."

"Or lack of~" Kol piped in, earning himself a reprimanding glance from Elijah.

"I'm afraid I have to leave you now Jay." Elijah turned to the girl who was smiling in slight amusement at the siblings and their antics. She kinda wished she had brothers like them. Hers was…let's just say their relationship isn't that great.

"My apologies for having to cut our discussion short like this." He said apologetically.

Jay shook her head. "No, it's quite alright. I should meet up with my friend and start our drive back to Whitmore soon anyways."

Elijah smiled earnestly at her, once again extending his arm out towards the door, politely waiting for her to walk first.

"Kol, if you don't mind, can you show our guest to the door?" Elijah asked of his brother, eyes narrowing in slight warning without the notice of their guest. He was telling his brother to not do anything reckless and idiotic.

Kol shrugged with a grin. "I don't see why not~ don't worry brother dear, I'll be careful with her." He winked at Jay who felt her ears turn warm. She had never been winked at before.

Elijah pointedly ignored the antics of his brother, extending his hand to Jay instead. "Thank you for coming here today Jay. It has been enlightening speaking with you."

"No, not at all. The pleasure is mine, actually. I learnt a lot from you today." Jay shook his hand and Elijah smiled at the sincerity that shone in her eyes. "I'm sorry if I wasn't much help with your research." Jay scratched the back of her head, and shuffled her right foot around in embarrassment.

"Don't be. It has been very insightful speaking with you."

Saying their goodbyes, Elijah turned to head upstairs with long strides whilst Jay fidgeted under Kol's shameless staring.

"Well, shall we then?" He asked whimsically, head nodding towards the direction of the stairs that lead below and to the foyer.

"So what were you speaking with my brother about?" Kol asked the short girl beside him. He had to look down quite a bit, as he towered a good 25cm above her. He already knew what they spoke about; he had heard every word they said from the lounge below the room they were in. He just asked for the heck of it. And perhaps to try to get a bit more look into what sort of person she is, to have piqued enough interest in Elijah to invite her to their den of monsters.

"We just spoke about different traditions and beliefs, really. Your brother is very knowledgeable." She said to Kol with an honesty that shone in her dark brown eyes that bordered on black.

Kol smirked down at her. "He might be knowledgeable about such things, but I am sure I am more knowledgeable than him in other things. " He whispered the last part in her ears. Jay's heart leaped in her chest from the suddenness of his breath across her skin and she looked down and forward with determination, feeling her cheeks growing warm. She pointedly ignored anything her mind came up with as to what he meant by those words of his.

Reaching the front door, Jay was relieved as she quickly turned around to Kol and gave him a strained smile marked by nervousness. She wasn't very used to such open flirtations.

"Thank you for having me in your family's home, Kol. It is very lovely." She said honesty despite the slightly erratic beating of her heart which sounded loud and clear in Kol's ears.

"Don't mention it _darling_." He grinned, opening the door for her. His grin widened further when he heard her heartbeat increasing, and caught the slight twitch of her eyes as her cheeks glowed a darker red.

She quickly stepped out onto the porch, not because she disliked the company of Kol but because she was rather nervous with his forward personality. But that had more to do with her than him.

"Thank you again Kol." She said, turning around only to be surprised to find that a taxi was already there waiting for her.

"_See you soon_~!" Kol called out to her with a chuckle, watching as she quickly walked to the taxi.

* * *

"So what's up with this _Miss Jay_?" Kol threw himself onto the couch, lounging across it as he looked up at his brother Elijah who was reading a book in the armchair across from him.

"Nothing is up, Kol." Elijah murmured back, eyes flicking to look at his brother who is grinning mischievously before turning back to his book.

"Oh, don't play that game with me Elijah. I heard your conversations with her." Kol waved his brother off with a dismissive hand, a challenging smirk plastered on his face.

"Ever the eavesdropper." Elijah sighed, not really surprised.

"So what's this about songsters? I'm sure you didn't call her over here just to just simply chat." Kol folded his arms across his chest, settling his back into the couch. "Is she one?"

"As I said before Kol, it was nothing." Elijah continued reading his book, attempting to ignore his brother's persistent questions.

Kol hummed a tune that told Elijah he did not believe him.

"Whatever you say brother~" Kol sighed, feigning upset. Pushing himself off the couch, Kol proceeded to leave the room but not before turning around to grin at Elijah.

"Oh, and I applied to be a student at Whitmore College. I'm sure I will be receiving my acceptance letter soon~" He grinned to himself when he finally caught his brother's attention, and made a show of strutting out of the room.

Elijah sat unmoving for a moment, before finally closing his eyes and his book.

He wondered to whatever powers that existed up above why his brother must be one of those typical little brothers.

* * *

**Reviews are always loved ^_^ It keeps me inspired, like watering a plant~! **

**I'm still figuring out how I want to write this story, whether I want to reveal a lot to the readers in a short amount of time so they can get a better understanding of each character's cryptic words and their motives, or reveal bit by bit as Jay's character grow in relation to interactions with others. Would like some opinions on this too, if possible :S **

**Greenlv- Thank you for your review! And Jay will most likely interact with other characters in the future. I'm still sorting out who should come in and what role they should play but they most likely will make an appearance as well :3 I did not have a particular season in mind for this story, though I would have to say it would be after Elijah undaggered all of them and Esther was awakened. I suppose the story starts around that time, but taking a different route from the original story line in the series as I hope to make use of all the Mikaelsons if I could ^_^**


	3. Track 3: The Folder

**Author's Note: This story takes place in Season 3, after Esther is awakened. But it is AH from there after. **

**Currently contemplating whether Elijah should be one of the romanced character in the story…It won't be difficult to fit him in, but the story was originally thought of centered around KolXOC :S**

* * *

_~Eastern Sun In The Western Sky~_

_Track 3: The Folder_

_~In courtship, a man pursues a woman until she catches him~_

_-Unknown`_

* * *

"_Mother, you wished to see me?" Elijah walked into his mother's study, spotting her regal figure by the window._

_Esther gazed out the paneled glass, the velvet red curtain soft under her hand. She watched as the young woman almost but dashed to the yellow cab that waited her, her dark eyes meeting Esther's brown ones fleetingly when the girl chanced to look up, spotting Esther at her window._

_Closing the curtain, Esther turned to her current eldest son and smiled. "Elijah, come in." She sat down on one of the couches in the room, watching as her son did the same before her. _

_She very much loved Elijah, as she did all her children despite their flaws. And though Elijah was very much moral and kinder than his other siblings, unlike Finn, Elijah still had tendencies to walk off the noble road which he had followed since his time as a human._

_Returning from the dead, Esther was very much sincere and determined in making sure her family sticks together this time. She has healed over the millennium she spent on the other side, and now she wants nothing more than to witness the same for her children and perhaps find redemption for them for the atrocities they have done. _

_They sat in silence momentarily, as Esther gazed over the figure of her son, of the person he has become over the ages. And one thing she knew very well is that Elijah did not act without reason._

"_Elijah, I cannot help but notice that girl you have invited over to our home today," Esther began, sitting back into the couch and smoothing down her dress. "Who is she, if I might ask?"_

_Elijah smiled, looking down at his intertwined fingers as he contemplated his mother's intentions. He loved his mother, and he respected her but he doubt that his mother, after being dead for a 1000 years, would just suddenly be interested in who he brought home or who he didn't._

"_Her name is Jay, mother. I met her at the music event I mentioned to you a week ago." Elijah settled back into the couch like his mother. "She is a wonderful singer."_

_Esther smiled lightly at her son. "I'm sure she is, considering my son has admitted so. I know your taste for music is impeccably refined." _

_Elijah smiled at her comment but did not say anything. _

"_But Elijah, I am sure it is clear to you as it is clear to me that you did not get into contact with her simply because she displays talent as a musician?" Esther stated rather than ask, watching her son closely as tension entered his shoulders._

"_I'm not sure what you mean, mother. " Elijah spoke softly, gazing into the eyes that passed onto him._

"_I might have been dead for a 1000 years Elijah, but my powers have not yet failed me. I sense it within her, Elijah. She's one of them." _

_At her words, Elijah's eyes narrowed as his suspicions were confirmed. _

"_But what worries me most is what you intend to do with her, Elijah." Esther trained her eyes on her eldest, calmly waiting for his reply._

_Elijah stared at his hands, as if eternity was within those calloused hands of his, and within eternity was the answer. _

_Moments passed and Elijah failed to answer his mother who heaved a breath of air before standing up, walking over and touching her son's shoulder._

"_I shall place my faith in you Elijah, to not do anything rash like your brothers." She squeezed his shoulders and Elijah smiled up at her before she left the room. _

* * *

Jay trudged into the classroom, grumbling to herself about the weight of her bag before picking a seat towards the back of the class but not far enough that she can't concentrate properly on the class. She made it a point to always concentrate on her classes, but also to be inconspicuous enough to not be called on by the teacher. She moved towards the second last seat of the row, saving the furthermost seat for John Kim as she always did.

As she arranged her notes and pens, she felt someone take the seat beside her. Looking to her right, she expected to see the sleepy face of her Korean friend only to be met with dark eyes she never thought of seeing again.

Her eyes bulged in surprise. "Kol?"

He smirked at her. "Fancy meeting you here love."

Jay gaped momentarily at her before biting her lips. "My friend usually sits there…"

"Oh he does? Well, there are plenty of other seats left so I'm sure he'll be able to accommodate." Kol replied, ignoring her veiled hint that she wanted him to move seats.

"What are you doing here? You're not in this class…do you even go to this college?" Jay asked incredulously, head tilting in confusion.

"I am, starting from today." He grinned at the look of disbelief on her face.

"But it's partway through the term!"

"Well, I'm very qualified for this school, or rather, overqualified for this school. So they were very keen on having me here." Of course, the occasional compulsion sped the process up.

"Hey Jay, morning…" John trailed off when he noticed someone else in his usual seat.

He exchanged looks with Jay who shrugged helplessly at him and patted the empty seat to her left.

"Who's he?" John asked as he sat down next to her, giving Kol a friendly smile, or as friendly John could get at this time of the day.

"His name is Kol. Remember that Elijah person I met at the music event? He's his younger brother." Jay explained, whilst Kol just smiled innocently at John who just gave him an awkward smile.

"Right…is he in this class? I never noticed him before." John said to Jay uncertainly, before looking at Kol questioningly.

When Kol ignored him and played with the multiple colored pens on Jay's desk instead, Jay shrugged her shoulders and snatched one of her pens back. "Apparently, he's starting from today."

"That's weird. I didn't know they still accepted students this late into the month."

"I know, right? Kol, give me my pen back!" Jay grimaced when he started twirling her green pen in his fingers.

"Do you really need this many pens just to take notes?" Kol asked, keeping the pen out of her reach.

Jay gave up reaching for her pen when it was very clear to her that his arms were very much longer than hers. "I like to be organized." She said, pulling another pen out from her bag.

Kol raised a brow in amusement. "Nerd."

Jay ignored his comment as the teacher walked in.

Throughout the class, Jay ignored the comments Kol whispered to her, correcting the teacher about certain things quietly to her, particularly when something historical came up. Jay wanted very much to just concentrate on the class, but resisted from telling Kol to become the teacher if he was so smart.

She couldn't even be bothered to question the validity of his comments. He wasn't the teacher.

Her parents paid a lot of money to send her here to study, and she wasn't going to fail them. She was determined to keep a high grade point throughout her studies. Though perhaps it is this attitude that lead to her small number of friends saying that she might have a split personality, for she became this uptight mad lady that blew up at anybody that got in her way of studying. They were exaggerating but they got their point across. Sadly, Jay could not help it. It has been instilled in her to always keep up with her studies and this was her best way of doing so, for she was absolutely horrid at studying on her own. If she paid attention in class, then she would not have to suffer on her own too much.

As the class came to an end, Jay started packing her things whilst Kol just sat there and watched her pack. He did not have any notes nor writing utensils out, which made Jay question why he was even attending college.

Counting her pens, she found one missing and turned to Kol, who handed it back to her with a grin.

"I think he likes you." John whispered to her, voice laced with amusement, before getting up to leave for his next class.

Jay did not know what to make of what John said, but also wondered mentally what she should do if that was the case. She hardly knew Kol, but from what she saw on television, people here dated very early on in the game. Or at least, she had the impression they did. She wasn't sure if it was right or not but she was certain that where she came from, people usually became friends for at least a month before thoughts of dating even comes up.

When she left class, she was torn between feeling annoyed and flattered that Kol followed her.

"Dude, I don't know what you're up to, but I'm not looking for a boyfriend." Jay said to him, lips pulled into a lopsided smile that belied her silliness for saying such a thing. She had jumped to conclusions.

Kol laughed arrogantly at her. "And I'm not looking for a girlfriend."

"Then what are you looking for?" Jay turned to him with exasperation, starting to think that perhaps he was stalking her. She met him at his home not long ago and suddenly, _BAM_, he went to the same college at her and was in her class despite not having been there for the past weeks.

"I'm just looking for that weird Asian girl that came to our home previously."

Jay ignored his snarky comment about being a weird Asian.

"Well, you found her! So what are you still doing here?" She started to walk away from him, intent on getting to her next destination when Kol blocked her path, smiling cheekily down at her.

Moving to the left caused Kol to move as well, and when she moved to the right, he did the same thing, blocking her easily.

"You were much more quiet and shy when you were at our house." Kol stared down at her with one brow raised. "What caused the change in attitude love?"

She wasn't used to being called love, and even if she knew that it did not mean anything in his term, her cheeks flushed. Damn British people. "Nothing changed. I just like studying and you're kinda getting in my way of that."

"You like studying?" Kol asked almost incredulously, following after her again. "Lies! No one likes studying."

"Well, I do."

Jay gasped when the folder in her arms was plucked out of her grasp by Kol. "Well, Miss-I-Like-To-Study, don't be a stereotypical Asian and prove me wrong that you aren't a stereotypical Asian."

Ohhh, the cheek of this man!

"Well, Kol, sorry to disappoint you but I have nothing to prove to you!" She tried to snatch her folder back. She paused for a moment before narrowing her eyes at him. "Are you bullying me? Because I'm Asian?"

Kol really had to laugh at that. He was having too much fun with this.

"I'm not bullying you darling, relax!" Well, if you called bullying using her for his entertainment, maybe he was.

"Kol, I'm going to be late for my next class and I would appreciate it if you would give me my folder back. " Jay finally sighed, too tired to argue with him any longer.

"Hmm, tell you what~ Meet me after your classes end and I will give this precious folder of yours back to you." He smiled at her as if he did nothing wrong and Jay just could not believe what she was hearing.

She had never met someone with an attitude like him in her own country or since her arrival here.

"What? I need that folder for my notes!"

"I'm sure you can manage without this for a couple more hours." He flipped through the papers within her folder. Looking back at her, he smiled like the devil and wagged an eyebrow at her. "I'll see you later~"

And with that, he walked off in the opposite direction Jay needed to head to.

Checking the time on her phone, Jay wavered between going after him or heading to her class.

With a groan, she jogged towards her next class, wondering how the hell she was supposed to find him after class if she did not have his contact number.

When she arrived at the designated classroom and took her usual seat, Jay took out her notebook to find a phone number written across the front cover along with the initial K.

Great, he ruined her notebook cover.

* * *

Kol lounged across his dorm bed, well, the dorm bed of his compelled friend, as he waited for time to pass.

The boy he compelled was out attending his classes, though Kol had compelled him to forget about him whenever he left the room.

He had removed every single piece of paper from Jay's folder and was looking through them to pass the time.

He saw notes from her various classes as well as randomly scrawled song lyrics of famous songs. One that was repeatedly written happened to be _Into The West_ by Annie Lennox.

Kol scoffed to himself before looking through other papers. There were little cartoon doodles as well as weird looking characters which he could not read.

Then he found a photo slipped in between two note papers and he stared at the photo.

It was an old printed photo of Jay and what appeared to be her family. Her father was a short man, just slightly taller than Jay herself whilst her mother towered over her father by half a head. A young man sat with a stiff smile beside Jay in the photo, and he assumed he was her brother.

Jay smiled brightly in the photo, her hair shorter than what it was now. Kol could almost sense a certain distance between her and the young man sitting beside her.

His phone vibrated in his back pocket, and he took it out to see a message from an unknown number which he guessed was Jay.

_I'm done with classes now and want my folder back. Jay._

Kol chuckled to himself before putting everything back in her folder and headed towards the door. Just before he left, he stopped for a moment and contemplated something before tossing the folder onto a nearby chair. Then he left.

* * *

Clementine could not help but laugh as she laughed at Jay's story as she told them about Kol and his antics since first class.

"So he's got your folder now?" Clementine slapped Jay on the back. "Good work!"

"How is this good work? I need that folder." Jay grumbled, sucking on the candy in her mouth.

"She means that you got an admirer." Cecilie rolled her eyes in boredom. "God, I wanna go home."

"Then go home then." Ryan told the girl as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, cause then I have to skip classes." Cecilie grimaced before noticing a tall figure walking towards them with a wide grin plastered on his face.

"If this is what it means to have an admirer, I rather not have one." Jay mumbled to herself as she waited for Kol to approach them, noticing his tall figure strolling across the lawn.

"Oh wow, is that him?" Clementine exclaimed as she noticed the figure as well. "Excellent work Jay!"

Ryan shook his head at Clementine as Jay kept a frown on her face when Kol stopped beside her.

"Greetings." He said to them. Clementine was all too eager to greet him back while Cecilie eyed him up and down in interest. Ryan kept his face blank.

"You certainly don't come in peace." Jay said to Kol and raised her hand towards him. "My folder."

Kol widened his eyes and mouth in feigned remembrance, before smiling at her in dismay. "I'm sorry. But I left your folder back at my dorm room. I would gladly go and get it with you."

Jay could not believe this, and she rubbed her temples. She resisted screaming out with the stress that was piling on her. It was a very minor matter, nothing to be stressed about...man, she really has study issues. She heaved a heavy sigh, forcing the tension to leave her.

Kol thoroughly enjoyed seeing her this way. He placed one arm on the picnic table they were seated at and leaned down towards Jay, causing the girl to lean back away warily and shyly. His keen eyes did not miss the light pink that instantly trailed across her cheeks.

"Tell you what? Go on a date with me and I swear I will give you your folder back." He smiled charmingly down at her.

Jay's brows nearly disappeared behind her hairline.

One, this was the first time someone openly asked her out like that. Her previous boyfriend was not so open as Kol.

Two, if this was really what he wanted, couldn't he have just said so in the first place?

Jay crossed her arms and frowned. "No. Now give me my folder back!"

Kol sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine then. No folder."

He started walking away when Jay groaned, his sharp senses picking up the sound and causing him to grin to himself.

"Fine! One date and I get my folder back."

He turned back around to look at her and grinning devilishly he winked at her, causing a blush to stain the faces of Jay, Clementine and Cecilie. Even Ryan had difficulty keeping his eyes from staring.

As he walked away again, Kol heard Clementine pushing Jay whilst Cecilie said to her, "You lucky bitch."

* * *

**Read and Review, not read and run~ :D **


	4. Track 4: The Mikaelson Ball

**Author's Notes: I think I'll give this story several more chapters before suspending it, due to the obvious lack of support and like for this story, unless there is a change :S Was really looking forward to writing this too but I guess people don't really enjoy an Asian character :S **

**Guess I should stick to continuing Fairyride :S **

**For an idea of how Jay's dress for this chapter is like, feel free to check out the link in my profile~**

* * *

_~Eastern Sun In The Western Sky~_

_Track 4: The Mikaelson Ball_

_"Our real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish."  
― Chuck Palahniuk__  
_

* * *

"_I assume all of us here is bringing someone to the ball?" Their mother walked into the room, eyeing each and every one of her children expectantly. _

"_I think that will be difficult considering some of us just woke up after centuries." Rebekah shot an icy stare at her brother Niklaus who rolled his eyes and continued sketching into his pad. _

"_And some of us can't even get a date after being around for centuries." Kol mocked back. _

_Rebekah threw the item nearest to her, Elijah's mini notepad, at Kol's head who quickly ducked his head down. The item sailed over him and the couch, clattering to the floor against the wall._

_Elijah raised his hand in disbelief at her. "I liked that notepad."_

"_It's not broken." Rebekah replied back coolly._

"_Rebekah, Kol." Their mother called their names, a motherly warning in her voice. The two siblings silently entered a truce for the time being as they went back to what they were doing before. Rebekah was having her nails filed while Kol was just lounging around._

_Klaus was drawing yet again, while Finn was out and about somewhere. Elijah was just in the room to collect his notepad before it got thrown by Rebekah. _

_Esther breathed and turned to her current youngest son who sat closest to her. _

"_Are you bringing anyone to the ball, Kol?" _

"_Well, unlike the highly misguided assumption dear sister has made, I do have someone I was planning on bringing to the ball." He smiled arrogantly at Rebekah who fixed blue eyes on him._

"_Oh, and who might that be?" She crossed her arms, equally as arrogant as Kol with her tone. Klaus failed in hiding his smile of amusement._

_Kol's eyes flickered to Elijah momentarily and grinned. "Why, Jay of course."_

_Elijah paused in his act of straightening out his notepad which was folded in odd places. _

"_You're bringing Jay to the ball?" Elijah asked his brother, internally collecting himself. _

"_Yes, is there a problem?" If possible, Kol's grin only grew wider._

_Elijah did not bite onto Kol's bait, instead nonchalantly pocketed his notepad. "No, not at all brother."_

_Esther trained a deep gaze on her youngest son who shrugged innocently at her. _

"_Who is this Jay person all of you speak of?" Klaus asked, looking between his siblings._

"_Some oriental girl Elijah brought back." Rebekah drawled out without a thought. _

"_Rebekah!" Esther admonished her daughter this time, knowing full well the degrading intentions she had in her word usage. _

_Ohhh, her children. _

* * *

Jay rolled over in her bed with a groan, mind instantly filling with thoughts of the week and the fact that Kol hasn't returned her folder yet. She frowned to herself. She supposed she didn't really need that folder, though she still would very much like it back as it contained many of her notes from class. She wasn't sure if she would like to go on a date with him either.

She admitted that he had good looks but it wasn't in her culture to just go on dates with people she just met. Then again, she's in a different country now and she did want to try experiencing new things.

Getting out of bed, she looked around in her tiny single dorm room, appreciating the solitude it offered her. She didn't mind hanging out with friends, but she was an introvert at heart. Whenever she did something, she almost always liked doing it alone, even things such as travelling.

It would have been cheaper if she shared a dorm room but she didn't want to give up her privacy.

Making her way towards the bathroom, Jay paused when she noticed a white envelope at the bottom of her room door, having been slid in by someone.

Picking it up, she stared at her nickname written in beautiful cursive across the front. She mentally made a note to learn how to write in cursive like this as she released the paper from its binding.

_Please join the_

_Mikaelson Family_

_This evening at seven o'clock_

_For dancing, cocktails and celebration_

'_Mikaelson?'_ Jay thought and instantly brought to mind Elijah and Kol. She flipped the invitation around to check for anything else and was surprised to find a message written in the back for her.

_I expect your attendance_

_~Kol _

Jay smiled wryly. The whole idea of a ball which was so majestic and enchanting at first quickly became an almost joke at the message from Kol.

She had never went to a ball before, so attending was something she had wanted to do right away, though she was a little nervous at the thought that she will probably not meet anyone she knows there, save for Elijah and Kol…and perhaps Rebekah though the girl did not seem too fond of her.

Jay frowned and checked the time. It was still early in the morning, and the morning chill still lingered in the air. Mystic Falls isn't exactly somewhere she can get to quickly, so even if she wanted to attend, she didn't exactly have transport there and asking Ryan again would be really pushing it.

But the mention of a ball brought to mind a dress she had brought over with her. Opening her closet, Jay removed one of the items hung in the far corner, wrapped in a protective black cover.

Removing it from its cover, she stared at the dress and wondered how she had let her grandmother talk her into bringing this along. It was something she wore to her cousin's wedding a year ago and she hasn't worn it since. It wasn't very extravagant, but not plain either. It fitted her figure and her features just right.

She is very fond of it though and did lament the fact that she couldn't use it more often.

Hanging it back, she dropped all thoughts of attending the ball as she didn't have transport there in any case. Picking up her phone with the intention of messaging Kol to let him know she wasn't going to go, she was surprised to find a message from him sent at the ungodly time of 5am in the morning.

_Figured you would need transport. Will pick you up later. You can dress with my dear sister~ _

Dumping her phone on her bed, she placed her hands on her hips and lightly laughed to herself incredulously at this person named Kol Mikaelson. How convenient of him.

Though she hoped he wasn't serious about her getting ready with his sister. Not knowing what time he will be picking her up, she cleaned herself up faster than she usually did before packing the few make-up she owned into a small bag and whatever else she deemed necessary.

Her phone rang an hour later, Kol's name printed across her phone screen. Hesitating momentarily, she answered her phone and his sultry voice drifted over.

"Morning, darling."

Jay rolled her eyes even though she knew he could not see, responding briskly. "Morning."

"Hope you're ready to leave. We have a really tight schedule."

"Yeah, where should I meet you?"

He told her the place where he was currently parked at, and Jay headed out there with her dress back in its cover and other necessities packed neatly into a small bag.

She felt totally weird going to a ball held by people she hardly knew and to add another layer of icing on top, she was now hitching a ride to their place to get ready for it.

Was this normal? If this was her home country, it would have been pretty weird.

People didn't normally go out of their way to do this for someone they hardly knew. As her sight spotted Kol leaning against his car, she could not help but narrow her eyes suspiciously.

He must be really desperate to court her or something. She didn't know.

Wagging his brows at her, he opened his trunk and helped her place her items inside, making a move to peek under the cover protecting her dress.

Jay grabbed his hand before he could lift it. "No, you can't look at it."

"I'm going to see it this evening anyways." He piped back at her amusedly.

"Then wait till this evening." She smiled tightly and shut the trunk.

Getting into his sleek black car, she buckled her seat belt and watched as he ignited the car.

"So do you go back home every weekend or something? I mean, you stay at the dorms right?" She asked as he stepped on the pedal, the car backing out of its parking place gently.

"Well, I actually went back yesterday only to discover my mother has spontaneously decided to hold this ball so I came back down." He explained to her, eyes on the road.

"Seriously? That's a lot of time spent in a car."

He grinned devilishly. "Not really. I drive _fast_."

Jay smiled quietly, not taking his comment seriously. "Well, thank you, in any case. I probably wouldn't attend if you aren't driving. I don't think Ryan would be willing to make another trip." She scratched her cheeks as she looked out her side of the window.

"Not at all. It was I who invited you so I must at least accommodate."

"Wow, you can be a gentleman when you want to be." Jay smiled as she settled back into her seat.

He smirked. "I am a gentleman."

As his car turned onto the long road that would take them to Mystic Falls, Jay could not help but glance at the speed meter. She swore that he was going above than was allowed by law.

"Umm…aren't you going a little too fast?" She asked worriedly, even though a part of her enjoyed the speed, heart thumping in both worry and exhilaration. She always wondered what it would be like to drive above the allowed speed limit. She holds a driving license from her own country but she had never dared try to break the law for she would probably get arrested in no time at all.

"Don't worry. I'm a really good driver."

"You'll get pulled over." She pointed out. Not to mention he probably got up at an ungodly hour to drive over to Whitmore.

Unbeknownst to her, Kol was hardly fatigued at all. He felt as fresh as if he just awoke from a 100 year slumber.

Kol rolled his eyes at her and kept his gaze on the road. "I made it here without a hitch." He had compelled any and all cops he met on the way to be on their merry way and eat donuts somewhere. So he was confident that none will be on this road for the remainder of the day.

As they drove all the way to Mystic Falls at break neck speed, Jay could only be amazed at the lack of cops, proving Kol right. This must be a really lucky day for him.

They made small talk on the way, Jay particularly interested in why they suddenly decided to throw a ball.

"My mother. She fancies these sorts of things." He replied smoothly.

"Huh…and why did you invite me then?" She asked, peeking at him curiously.

Her question earned her a quirked brow from Kol. "Would you rather that I didn't?"

"No, no, not at all." She said instantly, not wanting to disrespect her host for the day. "It's just, I mean, we hardly know each other. And you have to go through all this trouble…"

He hummed. "Well, by going through this trouble now, we get a chance to get to know each other." He winked at her and the fluttery feeling from the first day she met him returned to her chest.

She was starting to like this Kol person, considering how infuriating he was initially. If he was like this more often, perhaps she wouldn't mind if he decided to court her.

Mentally slapping herself, she shook these thoughts out of her head. She was reading too much into things.

"How old are you?"

"How old do you think I am?" He asked back, causing Jay to squint at him.

"I would say 21 or slightly older but…you're in my year…" She trailed off, unsure about his education history.

"Bingo. 22, actually."

Well, 22 at the time he was turned so he's 22 plus 1000 years or so. "And what's your age?"

"I'm 19 this year." She answered before continuing with her questions. "And you just decided to go to college after the semester has started for some time?"

Kol shrugged at her, one hand on the steering wheel as the other tapped to the music that blared quietly from the radio.

"I don't fancy being stuck in a room all day. I come and go as I please." He glanced over at her when she muttered softly.

"Lucky you."

"You don't enjoy your studies?" He raised a brow at her. "I thought you liked studying?" He scoffed at her, quoting her words from days before.

"Well, if I had other options, I would be travelling the world rather than spending another four years of my life in another institution." She sighed and crossed her arms. "But, since I can't, I have to get a degree and land myself a job somewhere." Though if possible, she hoped her band would have made a big break before they were forced into sitting tiny cubicles and staring at tiny words across a bright white screen.

"As they say, if there's a will, there's a way." He quipped at her, momentarily frowning at the music that was playing on the radio.

"Money makes this world go round. If I don't have money, I can't do anything." Jay bit the inside of her cheeks, watching Kol as he switched the radio channel.

Kol smirked at her cynical words but agreed with her nonetheless. "Then I'm lucky that I'm loaded."

She rolled her eyes but mirth danced on her lips. "Yes, lucky you."

"You can't be that badly off yourself either, considering you can afford to study overseas." He pointed out and Jay hummed in agreement.

"I suppose but…education just sucks in my country, you know? My parents have been saving for mine and my brother's education since before we were born."

He pursed his lips, eyes shifting back to the road. "You have great parents."

She smiled. "Thanks. What are your parents like?"

A pause entered the air at her question and Jay thought that perhaps she was being too inquisitive. So when he did not answer, she did not push it, letting their conversation die away into a thick silence.

They arrived at Mystic Falls way faster than they should have, thanks to all the speed laws Kol has broken.

Nervously shuffling into the mansion behind Kol, Jay gripped onto her belongings as she looked around at all the people setting up for the ball. Hires staffs climbed on ladders, stringing lights from one corner to the other while others cleaned the floors and arranged flowers. The place was bustling to make it in time for the evening's event.

Kol led her to a room and opened the door for her, allowing her in. "Here, you can use this room to get ready. I have to go and get fitted in." He said, watching her as she stepped into the room warily.

"Don't worry. Rebekah isn't in here. Her room is next door." He chuckled.

"Oh, it wasn't that…" She muttered, placing her things onto the table. "Thank you."

He winked at her before leaving her to her own devices.

* * *

"Rebekah, tell me how handsome I am." Kol smiled arrogantly at his sister through the mirror.

"Ah, Kol, you know I can't be compelled." The female original replied coolly as she examined her newly manicured fingers.

Their brother Finn smirked at her comment, looking towards the door when a slam sounded.

Klaus stalked into the room, eyes set in Rebekah. "You went after Elena?"

Elijah looked to his brother momentarily before going back to examining the shoe in his hand.

"Here we go." Rebekah settled into the couch, unfazed by Niklaus towering over her.

"Do you want another dagger in your heart?"

"Again with the dagger threats?" Kol scoffed, head shaking his head at his brother's lack of creativity. "Don't you have any other threats?"

"Oh, go back to staring at yourself." Klaus snipped before turning back to Rebekah. But Kol would not let it drop.

"And who are you, my father?" Kol did not miss a beat in retorting.

Temper at its end, Klaus finally turned on his brother, taking steps towards him. "No, Kol, but you're in my house."

"Then perhaps we should go outside." Kol stood up and walked towards Niklaus, facing him head on, unfazed by his brother.

The two stared each other down as the other three just watched on with amusement.

"Enough." Their mother Esther cut in on their showdown. Klaus's eyes flickered to their mother who beckoned him to follow her.

"Niklaus, come."

Kol smirked at his brother, keeping his challenging stare on him till Klaus walked out of the room.

As their mother talked to their brother, Kol returned to the seat he sat on previously before his stare down with Klaus.

"I assume you left our guest in proper care before coming here?" Finn questioned Kol, training an expectant eye on Kol.

"Well, I gave her a room next to Rebekah's so she could get ready." An impish smile crossed his lips and he looked at Rebekah with wide eyes. "You should let her help you get ready sister."

Rebekah fixed a not amused stare on Kol. "I think it should be the other way round. Her sense of style is horrendous."

"Ohh, you exaggerate. Can't be as bad as yours." Kol chuckled, loving the annoyance that crossed his sister's eyes.

"Even though you might not need help, I think our guest might. Why don't you help her Rebekah?" Elijah cut in on their bantering, smiling charmingly at Rebekah who shot him an incredulous look.

"And why would I do that?"

"Well, you did say that it should be you helping her get ready and not the other way round." Kol recounted the words his sister said moments ago. "Unless, you're doubting your abilities?"

"I'm not doubting anything."

"I call bluff."

Rebekah stood up abruptly, eyes narrowing at Kol who grinned up at her innocently. "Fine then. I'll help precious Jay get ready but only for the sake of our image."

She lifted her chin arrogantly as she looked down at her brother whose grin never left his face. "Be glad I'll be saving your image with this."

With finality, she stalked towards the door as her three brothers watched her leave with amusement. It has been ages since they ganged up on her this way, bringing unwanted and lost memories of the time when they were still human to the surface. But none of the brothers mentioned it nor paid heed to it, each continuing with their own actions rather than bringing up things that were long past.

At this moment, Rebekah had made her way to the room besides her and gave two firm knocks before opening the door right after, not having enough patience to wait for a reply.

Jay jumped from the sudden intrusion from where she sat by the dresser, thankful that she had a bathrobe on and that it was Rebekah.

"C-Can I help you? " She asked, confused as to why Rebekah was here.

The other girl did not reply, merely looking at her from top to bottom as if she was examining her.

"Where's your dress?" She asked abruptly, ignoring her question.

"Um, there on the bed but…" Jay trailed off as Rebekah walked over to the bed and tore the black cover off her dress. "What are you doing?"

"My brothers insisted that I help you get ready, so here I am, helping you get ready." She said with fire burning her words in both annoyance and the determination to one-up her brothers. Lifting the dress by its hanger, her blue eyes trailed over the cloth, sharp eyes running over the intricate details and tiny woven silk threads.

She stared at the dress before her, one brow raised. Jay noticed her expression and shuffled her feet.

"Is it not suitable for this evening's event?" Jay asked with concern. She wasn't too sure if the dress she had was suitable to begin with but she had no other.

There was a short silence before Rebekah responded. "No, it's fine." She looked at the girl with reluctant sapphire eyes. "It's…I've never worn a dress like that before."

Jay smiled at her answer. "It's a traditional dress of my people."

"So I've heard." Rebekah replied, looking back at the dress. "I just never tried one before."

"Do you like it?" Jay asked curiously.

Rebekah looked at her, gauging Jay's features before nonchalantly turning to the dresser. "It's alright, I suppose."

Jay felt a light tug at her lips at Rebekah's answer. She had a gut feeling that Rebekah wasn't being entirely honest but she made no comment on it, since she was a guest in their mansion.

"Right." Rebekah heaved a breath, as if this was a chore, which to her actually is. "Do whatever you can while I go get ready. I'll come back and help you with your hair later."

"You don't have to, you know." Jay protested immediately. "I can do it myself." Internally, she would really like the help but already felt that she was intruding too much. She wasn't much of a talented dresser.

Rebekah looked at the girl with narrowed eyes, recalling the unkempt hair she turned up at their doorstep with the first day they met. "What are you planning to do with your hair?"

"Well, I was just going to pull it into a ponytail-"

"No, absolutely no." Rebekah waved a hand, immediately dismissing her words. "Dry your hair, get changed, do your make-up and wait." She walked out and into the other room, leaving no room for Jay to argue.

Jay could only rub her strained eyes, finding a strangely humorous aspect to the day so far, before sitting back by the dresser.

This family is on a level of its own.

* * *

When Jay stepped out to the stairs that led to the foyer below, she could only look on in amazement at the transformation that underwent so quickly. When she had arrived this early noon, the place was extravagant but elegantly simple compared to now.

Now, the whole place had undergone an overwhelming transformation, lined with glowing lights and grand flower arrangements dotted the place, highlighting the features of each corner and table. Music drifted and flowed through the area, as the band played right below the main staircase. People filled the beautiful halls, all dressed handsomely and exquisitely.

Below, she saw Kol speaking with a man and woman who she did not recognize.

Actually, she didn't recognize anybody here except for Kol, Elijah and Rebekah. She hasn't even met their remaining two brothers and mother yet.

A brunette in a beautiful gown of black walked into the hall, and Jay watched curiously as the man Kol was speaking with previously and another approached her before both linked arms with her.

She could not help the incredulous smile that invaded her lips. Wow, she had to get tips from her. She felt like she just walked into a fairytale. She had never attended an event like this before, only having seen them on television.

Jay then felt awkwardly out of place, finally realizing that everyone was talking to someone while she was just standing there at the center alone. She bit her glossed lips and looked around anxiously, wondering what she should do, nervously smoothing down her dress.

Moments earlier and down below, Kol had just introduced himself to the mayor of the town before a peasant by the name of Damon Salvatore had the nerve to introduce himself to him.

"I've met a lot of people. And you don't particularly stand out." Kol gave one condescending look to the one who introduced himself as Damon Salvatore before walking away.

He was looking around for another person to bother or important person that should acquaint with him when someone caught his eye and attention.

Up above, standing between the two spiraling marble staircases was Jay, her attention focused curiously on something before a smile broke out on her face. But that smile was quickly replaced by the biting of her bottom lip, as she gazed around nervously and all alone.

She was dressed in a dress that is not common to their land, a dress of her people that clung to her figure just enough to accentuate her soft curves but loose enough to leave work to the imagination. The vermillion flame of her dress instantly caught his eye, pink and yellow peach blossoms falling softly across her petite figure.

Part of her ebony hair was pulled up into a simple but graceful bun, the rest of her black tendrils cascaded around her shoulders. A delicate strap of silver accessory crowned her, bringing out the glow of her midnight hair.

In one word, she was exotic.

And Kol can appreciate that.

Smirking, he made his way towards her, eyes never leaving her anxious form.

As he took the last steps up that led him to her, she finally noticed him and smiled nervously.

"H-Hi." She greeted, eyes nervously sweeping over his form. He did not miss the tinting of her cheeks.

"You look exquisitely exotic." He said, dark eyes trained on her light features.

"T-Thanks. You look really nice too." She complimented back, the heat travelling across her neck now. She hoped that she wouldn't start sweating from the heat. That will really make her stand out amongst all these nice smelling people.

He lifted up his arm and offered it to her. "Shall we?"

Pursing her lips, she nodded and took his arm, heart leaping at the contact. A guy who, despite his sometimes infuriating personality, is sinfully handsome and gifted with a lean and tall figure offering her his arm? Any girl would be exhilarated and Jay was no different.

He led her down to the foyer below, where he introduced her to his elder brother Finn, and then to his other elder brother Klaus.

The former was very much polite to her while the latter, though gentlemanly, made snide remarks to Kol who returned the favor equally.

As Kol lead her around the room, exchanging polite greetings with people he deemed necessary, she made momentary eye contact with the man Kol spoke to earlier, his clear blue eyes staring at her. Unable to hold his penetrating gaze, she looked away to find that Kol held a drink out to her.

"Drink?" He asked charmingly.

"Thank you." She said, taking a small sip, eyes squinting at the flavor.

Kol chuckled. "Not to your tastes?"

"I've never drank champagne before...well, not of this quality anyways." Jay gazed at the bubbly gold liquid in her glass. "I actually quite like it."

Glancing to the side, she saw that the man was still there, only speaking with the brunette in the black dress.

Jay tugged on Kol's sleeves softly, nodding at their direction. "Who is that man?"

Kol looked to where she was looking at, eyes narrowing at the sight of the so-called Damon Salvatore.

"Not anyone of importance." Kol answered her, a simpering smile on his face as he arrogantly dismissed her question.

Jay thought that the way he nonchalantly dismissed that unknown man as unimportant to be weird and rude, but kept her tongue locked in place. It wasn't exactly her business.

"It seems that I have to leave you for the time being." Kol told her as he noticed his brother Elijah making his way towards the stairs where his other siblings were beginning to gather.

Giving her one last smirk, he left to take his place with his family, standing a couple steps higher than the others.

Jay watched him as he went, a churning feeling in her stomach. The girl within her liked the attention that he was giving her but Jay herself, her as a person and not a female, did not particularly enjoy the feeling that she got with his smirks and lilting voice. It sometimes felt like he condescended her, as if she was inferior.

She chalked it off as her over thinking things again, taking a small sip of her champagne as Elijah started addressing the guests. A woman approached the five siblings, standing next to Kol and Jay placed her as their mother.

She tried to pay attention to Elijah's words, but faced a little difficulty in doing so when she realized Kol never took his eyes of her. She shifted quietly, brushing a lock of her hair away from her eyes and tried to casually look around.

She met with Mama Mikaelson's eyes momentarily, before the regal woman looked elsewhere.

Her head tilted to the side, finding the way that their mother looked at her to be odd. Was she thinking too much again? It seems she has been doing that a lot lately, more so than usual.

When everyone around her started to move and make their way into another room, Jay startled and looked around in confusion and slight panic. Where was everyone going? Crap, she hadn't been paying attention.

Hesitantly, she followed the flow of people, trailing behind until someone touched her arm. Looking to the side, she found Kol with his ever charming smile looking at her.

He lifted his arm for her to take, and her head titled to the side in confusion.

He chuckled. "You haven't been listening, have you?"

Having been busted, she could not help but scratch her cheek in embarrassment. "Sorry, but what is happening now?"

""It's a dance. A waltz, if you want to be specific." He offered her his arm again.

Her heart rate sped upon hearing that everyone was going to participate in a dance and bit her lip hesitantly. "I don't know how to dance…" She said, looking at his arm apprehensively.

He quirked a fine brow at her, lips tugging in amusement. "It isn't very difficult. Just follow my lead."

Looking between him and his arm, Jay finally conceded and placed her hand on him. She only hoped that she wouldn't regret this, as he led her onto the floor and her heart started making erratic beats. She tried not to hyperventilate as the dance started.

"Relax, darling. Just leave it to me." He whispered to her, her beating heart clear to his ears and stiff shoulders to his eyes.

Breathing deeply, she nodded at him, eyes trained on the floor as she tried to follow his footsteps as best as possible, occasionally looking at the other couples to see how they were moving.

A chuckle brought her attention back to her front, and she looked up at Kol as he smirked down at her. "Stop looking everywhere and just look at me."

"It's kinda hard when I don't know how the dance is supposed to go." She replied, eyes beginning to trail to their feet again, fearing she might step on him.

She bit back a squeak of surprise when Kol twirled her, but it felt completely right and natural even though she did not know the timing. He pulled her back at just the right moment, firm arms leading her insecure form.

A feeling of wonder slipped into her, as she unconsciously stared with disbelief at Kol. Arrogance laced his smirk as he spun them around, lacing through and between the various couples smoothly.

He lowered his head, lips stopping by her ears as he whispered to her. "Like I said, leave it to me."

She pursed her lips in embarrassment and nodded quietly, finally trusting him to make sure she didn't cause a domino effect. The nervousness left her as seconds ticked by, until there was nothing left in her but the feeling of gliding across the marble floor, a feeling she always imagined when she watched the Princesses of Disney dancing with their Prince Charming.

Kol held her gaze, pulling all her thoughts away from the other dancers and her insecurity, and focused it all onto him. She wasn't even aware that she no longer peeked at her feet to check their movements or that she was no longer watching the other couples.

She was infinitely aware of his hand, which were twice the size of hers, enveloping her own petit ones whilst his other left a feeling of warmth around her, as her own lightly rested on his broad shoulders.

She watched the light of the room flicker across his eyes, melding in black and browns and she wondered what went on in his thoughts, as he too gazed down at her ebony pools.

She was brought back into reality, the cloudy feeling leaving her when he smirked and spun her into another partner.

She blinked up at Elijah who smiled down at her ever politely.

"You look wonderful tonight, Jay." He complimented her, taking over Kol's role of leading her in the dance. He did not fail to catch bits of their conversation from before the dance began.

She laughed quietly, pink tints of happiness dotting her skin. "Thank you. You look very handsome too, Elijah."

"And how are you enjoying the evening so far?" He asked.

"I'm enjoying myself so far. I don't know anyone here but Kol has kept me company."

Elijah smiled down at her. "I was rather surprised to hear that my brother chose to escort you to the ball this evening."

She tilted her head questioningly. "And why is that?"

"My brother rarely brings companions to events like this. I didn't mean to offend."

"Oh, I wasn't offended. Just curious." Jay chuckled, momentarily looking down at their feet, feeling herself beginning to lose the rhythm of the dance.

"Forgive me, I would have invited you myself but I was uncertain whether you would attend due to the distance." Elijah looked down at her apologetically, causing Jay to shake her head.

"Not at all. I was surprised when your brother invited me as well. I mean, I do live kinda far away…" She trailed off, laughing softly to herself.

Elijah twirled her as expertly as Kol did, bringing her back to him without much awareness on her part. "And how have you been?"

Jay hummed. "I'm alright. I was really surprised to find that your brother Kol attending Whitmore though."

"I was surprised myself too." Elijah muttered, something lingering in his eyes which Jay could not place. Smoothly, Elijah moved the topic away, inquiring her about her plans for the night.

"I was just going to maybe stay at a motel somewhere…I don't know. Now that you mention it, I haven't really thought about it." Jay blinked at herself stupidly, mentally smacking her head at her carelessness. She didn't have a place to stay or go to after the ball.

"I'm sure my family would not mind if you stayed the night. It is our ball and you are our guest." Elijah offered to her.

"I don't know…I don't want to intrude."

The dance came to an end at that moment, and everyone clapped in thanks to the orchestra and all dancers. Elijah turned to her once more.

"I insist you stay. We can make arrangements for your trip back to Whitmore tomorrow morning. " Elijah told her firmly and Jay could not possibly say no to his insistence.

"If you are sure, thank you so much Elijah." Jay said, bowing slightly in thanks and Elijah once again noted this act of hers, reminding him of the night he first met her. He had told her he voted for their group that night and she had bowed to him in a similar fashion.

He found it fascinating and interesting the amount of respect her culture instilled within her.

"It is nothing." He said, leading her away from the room. Eyes flickering elsewhere, Elijah lead Jay to a bar where he offered her a drink. "I'm afraid I have to be elsewhere at this moment, so I will have to leave you."

"It's alright. I'll be fine on my own." Jay waved her hand quickly to assure Elijah, watching as he lightly touched her shoulder before striding off to the stairs that led up.

Left on her own again, Jay once again bit her lip, choosing to drink more champagne just to keep herself busy and not so out of place.

* * *

"Where's your date?" Kol asked his sister who stood beside him in her green dress.

"Flirting with his ex." She said shortly, simpering eyes staring off at the topic of their discussion.

"You've changed Bekah." Amusement tugged at his lips. "You know settling for mortals is the first sign of weakness~" He stated to her, eyes glancing down at the glass of golden liquid in his hands.

Rebekah resisted rolling her eyes. "Says the one who brought the Oriental here, even going through the trouble of providing transport and room." Rebekah retorted coolly, both their eyes finding the new topic of their conversation standing at the bar by herself in her dress that made her stand out from the others with not only its color but design.

Kol smirked. "Elijah showed a curious interest in the girl." He shrugged nonchalantly but a mischievous grin splayed across his lips. "What sort of brother am I if I don't poke my nose in."

"Well then, we're not too far off from each other." Rebekah straightened her back elegantly. "I'm not settling. I brought him here to kill him."

She looked at her brother who was waiting for her to explain. "He's Elena's friend. If he dies, she suffers." She stated matter of factly. "But I've already been scolded once, so I was hoping you'd help your baby sister out."

"And spit right in the face of mother's rules?" Kol asked, brows furrowing in question. But it did not last when the devil returned to his lips, the prospect of taking a life seeping excitement and anticipation into him.

"I'm in."

* * *

"And how are you enjoying yourself?" The sudden soft but firm voice startled Jay mid-sip, causing the champagne to go down the wrong pipe.

Coughing, she covered her mouth in embarrassment as she peered up at the tall man beside her, recognizing him as Finn.

"Forgive me." He apologized, signaling the staff handling the bar to bring her a glass of water.

"No, it's alright. Just surprised." She said, voice straining as she tried to suppress any more coughs down. Accepting the water gratefully, she took two large gulps, relieved to find that it helped.

She looked back up at Finn's towering figure, as he waited for her to adjust.

When she merely looked at him, his brows raised and he repeated his question. "How are you enjoying the evening?" He asked once more.

Jay groaned mentally, having forgotten about his question. "Sorry. But to answer your question, I'm alright I suppose…" She paused, looking around before turning back to him.

"I don't really know anyone here so..." she laughed nervously. She quickly realized the error of her words and tried to correct herself. "N-Not to say that the ball isn't wonderful. It's great, and I really enjoyed it but, you know," she swayed her head knowingly. "It'll be great to know some people here."

Finn smiled at her answer, getting a glass of champagne for himself. "I understand." He told her reassuringly. "Is my brother Kol not taking care of you?"

"I don't really know where he is..." Jay said uncertainly, having failed to spot Kol since the dance ended. "But I'm sure he has a lot of people to meet and speak to. I don't really want to bother him."

Finn sipped his glass, a quiet scoff leaving his lips. "As your escort, it is his responsibility to accompany you for the evening."

"Maybe. But I don't really mind. I'm not too much of a people person anyways." She answered, leaning her back against the bar counter.

The both of them looked out quietly at the people around them, mingling with one another and the soft tingles of glass clinking together echoed around them.

"I am beginning to think we are quite alike." Finn raised his glass towards her, and Jay smiled amusedly as she raised hers as well.

They clinked their glasses together, keeping their eye contact as they sipped their beverage.

"To peas in a pod." She tried to make a joke, but grimaced when it sounded awfully lame.

Finn smiled at her attempt but said nothing, eyes drawing to a figure behind her.

Jay followed his gaze to find Kol walking towards them.

"And how are my two favorite people this evening?" He stopped beside her, giving her a wink and an innocent smile to his brother.

"Kol, where have you been?" Finn asked, folding his hands. "It is rude to leave your guest the way you did."

"You must forgive me Jay. I had some matters to attend to." Kol apologized to her with a smile but Jay could not find the sincerity in his apology. She noticed a flash of something dark in his orbs, or at least she thought she did.

"No, it's alright. Finn here has kept me company." She smiled appreciatively at the quiet man.

"Well I must say my thanks to you brother." Kol wagged his brow at Finn who is obviously used to his brother's ways, turning instead to receive a glass of red champagne from the waiter who approached them. He lifted one for Jay as well who thanked him whilst Kol took one for his own.

The ringing sound chimed around the room, and all their attention was brought up to the figure of Esther atop the stairs.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman." She began addressing the guests. "Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass."

Jay straightened herself, making sure she paid attention this time.

"It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family, back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening." There was a short pause as she looked around, finding familiar and cherished faces in the crowd.

She raised her glass. "Cheers."

"Cheers." Everyone echoed back, raising their own glasses before taking sips.

Jay sniffed her own glass first, blushing when she was caught by Kol in the act. He smirked at her charmingly, raising his glass towards her.

"Cheers."

She clinked her glass against his, murmuring back softly before sipping her own.

As the toast came to an end, majority of the guests began to leave and Jay was wondering what she should do when she noticed Kol was no longer by her side. She excused herself from Finn, wandering away in search of Kol but was disappointed when she could not find him anywhere on this floor.

Sighing and deciding that she should return to the room they are allowing her to use, she made her way upstairs. Reaching the top, she turned to walk around the circular indoor balcony and make her way towards the hall that lead to her room when she noticed a familiar figure on the balcony that overlooked the main entrance.

Kol?

He reached a hand out to shake another man's hand, but she quickly knew something was wrong when the man suddenly dropped to his knees in pain, Kol still gripping his hand.

Instinctively, she started making her way over to find out what is going on when the man with icy blue eyes from earlier suddenly appeared from nowhere, causing her to stop in surprise and confusion.

A sharp gasp escaped her at the scene that soon unfolded before her.

The unknown man moved at a speed that left him as nothing but a blur in her eyes, quickly pushing Kol off the balcony.

"Kol!" She screamed, running towards the balcony just as the man jumped off as well.

What the fuck?!

Body crashing against the edge of the balcony, she leaned over and watched with horrified eyes as the man continued beating a still moving Kol.

She did not know which terrified her more, the fact that they were both still moving after a fall like that or the fact that the man suddenly snapped Kol's neck with a sickening crack.

Breaths leaving her in short intervals, she stumbled backwards as hyperventilation overtook her, falling over when her feet came in contact with the still kneeling man behind her.

"H-Hey!" He grimaced in pain, shifting to help her.

She did not hear his calls, eyes blank and unseeing as her breaths became shorter and shorter.

The shock finally took over her, and she blacked out.

* * *

**Reviews are really appreciated. They allow me to know that people are in fact interested in the story and opinions of readers is something I like knowing about~**


	5. Track 5: The Trigger

**Author's notes: Thanks to those who took the time to review! **

**I'm kinda torn between whether I should kill off Esther and Finn :S I really want to explore the Mikaelson Family as a whole and killing those two off would not work well in that aspect but keeping them means leaving a whole area that will be completely AH to TVD and I don't know if people will like that.**

**Your opinions in the reviews will be nice! Until this has been settled with enough opinions or I finally decide, the next chapter will be on hold. So...review? :3**

**And to answer some questions that popped up, I planned this story out to reveal bits and pieces of information as the story progresses, as I don't particularly like throwing a whole lot of information at the reader, expecting them to absorb all at one go :S **

**I guess this can result in the story looking like it isn't going anywhere…but things will clear up pretty soon. **

**On another note….I think I really need a beta reader :( I've really lost my writing touch after my two year hiatus, and I don't have a lot of time to go over what I wrote now either, juggling between my studies and art time. **

* * *

_~Eastern Sun In the Western Sky~_

_Track 5: The Trigger_

_"He who fears dangers will not perish by them"_

_-Leonardo Da Vinci_

* * *

Jay was really a normal girl like any other girl.

She swooned over handsome guys and enjoyed shopping, though she rarely bought the dresses she liked. She liked eating sweet food and would travel to a restaurant that was completely inconvenient to her just to try their famed delicacy. And she wasn't sure about other girls, but she especially loved eating.

If there was a sin she was guilty of, it was gluttony.

But she had always chalked it off as a side effect of environment she grew up in, for her country was famed for food from all ethnicities and food was cheap to the point of being ridiculous.

Although, she was heavily influenced by her big brother whilst growing up, resulting in her having a bit of an introverted personality for her brother was one of those loners that found the rest of the world incredibly stupid. He preferred to lock himself in his room whilst loud music blared from within, even as Jay constantly pestered him to open his door from the outside.

Both their parents worked and were never back till late night, so Jay constantly sought out her elder brother although he never paid much attention to her. Sometimes she felt that he wanted a little brother more than a little sister.

Of course, as she grew up, she also grew to live outside of her brother's shadow but some old habits die hard. Her introversion stayed, although it was much improved. She still yearned to talk to her brother, but whenever she did now, an unwanted feeling coiled in her stomach, no longer comfortable with speaking to him if there was no important reason for doing so.

A side effect of her introversion was that she got nervous easily. But to counter that, a side effect of her brother's influence was that she did not like to bother other people with anything that worried her.

Bothering other people is annoying and shows a weak person, as her brother always said. If there is a problem, you deal with it yourself.

Her brother's words had a big impact on her young mind, but she also learned that it was okay to confide in others as she grew up. These two sides constantly waged a war within her, until a balance was found which made her now as she is.

Her decision to fix her introversion only came when she discovered her love for music, and when she decided she wanted to become a musician. She had improved in her social interactions a lot, but she still had a ways to go when it comes to being a charismatic persona on stage.

She might let others know a bit of what she is feeling, but she will never go out of her way to ask for help nor display all her emotions out onto the table. She merely confides, and that is only if the other party asked.

Whether this made her a strong or weak person, she did not know. But she liked to think that she was strong enough to take care of herself, and not ultimate weakness to others.

Even when she spilled something, where her mother would flail and start going on about carelessness whilst fervently cleaning off the mess, she would quietly wipe off the stains. Where others would outwardly show their shock and horror on their faces and through their actions when the memory of there being a test on a Monday morning came back to them, Jay would steel herself and calmly use the last remaining 5 minutes to go over two months worth of notes, even as her heart _pitter pattered_ internally.

For in the end, panic got nobody nowhere.

So when Jay opened her eyes and found that she was not in her own dorm room nor the room she was showed to when she arrived at the Mikaelson Mansion, she merely looked around, calmly taking in the features of the new room. But within her, thoughts raced as she tried to recall why, what and how's that bubbled in her head.

The room was dark, with deep wine floors and dark walls. The furniture were made of equally dark mahogany, and there wasn't much in there save for the king sized bed, a closet and dresser, bedside tables and armchairs.

On one of these armchairs sat a familiar figure.

With one of his legs lifted onto the chair and crossed, eyes contemplating the fingers on his left hand, Kol perfected the picture of a dark calmness.

His dark eyes flickered to hers as she sat up, the only light illuminating them was the soft yellow glow from the lamp on the bedside table.

She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the minimal light, watching as Kol lifted his chin to regard her, an air of condescension surrounding him.

Kol…

Wait, _Kol_?

Her thoughts raced as memories returned to her.

She remembered him getting thrown off a balcony by that man, who moved at a speed that was _not_ human.

She remembered hearing a sickening crack as Kol's neck was snapped by that man.

Then she remembered stumbling over the blonde man, whose hand was injured by Kol in some way.

Unconsciously, her teeth found her bottom lips and bit on them, even as her eyes stared at Kol with suspicion and disbelief.

She felt her fingers curl around the blankets that covered her lower body.

"I see you remember." He spoke, voice sultry as it usually was. But this time, there was a dark tune to his normally sing-song voice, a tune that Jay did not like.

"You fell." The barriers started rising within her again, wanting to keep the other party from knowing how she felt. Though she could feel those barriers withering as her voice slightly shook.

Kol's eyes narrowed at her and he stood, coming to his full height. When he stood like that, the tip of her head barely reached his shoulders. Her feet curled to her chest instinctively, her body already acknowledging the fact that something is not normal even as her mind still denied it. Her red cheongsam rode up, as the blankets pooled around her feet, revealing her creamy skin.

How could a person survive a fall like that and not be in the hospital? Needless to mention the fact that his head clearly got _snapped_.

"How are you alive?" She breathed, watching warily as he paced slowly several feet away from the bed. She could not make out clearly his emotions, the dim light failing to provide.

He smiled though it did not reach his eyes. "A fall like that will not kill me."

"Your head got snapped." Jay herself was awfully surprised at her ability to keep herself together so far. A fall like that will not kill him? Then surely the twisting of your neck would?

"That will not kill me either." The same smile remained on his lips and Jay did not particularly like it. Her body tensed when he finally stopped pacing, casually placing his hand on his hip.

"You're awfully calm." He commented, amusement playing his eyes and lips.

Jay did not respond, instead slowly shifting back and to the side of the bed.

One thing was clear in her head, and that was that this man was not the infuriating gentleman she met.

She could feel the beads of sweat that trickled by the side of her head and the back of her neck, even though the room was cold as the bare night. Her hands were equally moist, as were her feet.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the heels she wore that evening placed neatly on the side of the bed.

At least she did not have to worry about stumbling now, if she decided to run; which she knew she should.

Kol smiled appreciatively, enjoying the way tension and fear started to creep into her form. Most people would have been screaming their heads off by now, which only resulted in their life ending quicker.

The girl did the right thing by holding it together, extending her life by minutes.

Anger and annoyance boiled within him, and he desperately needed an outlet. That infuriating Salvatore had the galls to attack him, and snap his neck even. The Salvatore will pay, but the girl will pay for him first.

His brother Elijah will not be too happy with him, but he'll get over it in a couple of years, maybe.

He did not understand what interested his brother so much in the first place. He figured it had something to do with these songsters Elijah mentioned to the girl.

The interest had been clear to Kol when he saw the way Elijah regarded the girl the first day she came to the mansion, and from that instant on, Kol just planned to be the annoying little brother he was by poking his nose in where he does not belong. He had merely planned to play with girl, leading her on whilst seeing what Elijah intended to do.

But now he had had enough. Elijah wasn't doing anything like he wanted him to, and this girl was as normal as she seemed.

The Salvatore had pushed the big red button that clearly says '_Do Not Push_,' and now the girl will have to pay his bills.

She did nothing wrong, no. The Salvatore did something wrong.

She was just there with the wrong people, at the wrong place, at the wrong time and as the wrong type of species.

Kol wondered what Asian blood will taste like. He had tasted blood from Europe to America and even all the way to Africa but he had yet to taste blood from the East.

He wondered if it will taste like peaches, the saccharine fruit her skin hue was similar to, even more so now as her cheeks flushed from the blood rushing to her head from her erratic heart.

That juicy organ within her played a swan song that was music to his ears, awakening the predator within him that had lay dormant for over a century.

He could feel his fangs elongating in his mouth at the prospect of tasting a new type of blood, and he was sure the red would pervade his eyes soon enough.

And he was right for he soon noticed the girl's body straightening as she instinctively threw her feet over the side of the bed, her fight or flee trigger now coming into motion.

And he was sure that she would flee.

He expected her to scream about now, but she hadn't, eyes widening in fear and disbelief at what she was witnessing, the clammy coils of horror now tightening around her.

A breath of words left her lips, and were it not for his heightened hearing, he would not have heard it.

"What are you?"

He grinned at her, fangs grazing against his stretched lips and he felt the veins pulling along his skin.

"A vampire, darling."

And with that, he was in front of her in a moment, before she could even get off the bed and run.

She only had time to allow a gasp of shock leave her lips before he sunk his teeth into the soft flesh at the side of her neck, arms coiling around her shoulders in a tight grip.

The pain burning at her neck shocked Jay into reality, everything seeming unreal up till now.

The calm that strained to keep her whole being in check snapped and panic took over her with the rush of terror, gushing and gushing from her heart, across her entire being to the point it overflowed and left her with a scream.

* * *

"No violence, that was all I asked. Rebekah and Kol disgraced our family tonight." Esther entered her study with Elijah close behind her. Her shoulders and back were tight with the embarrassment and disappointment her two youngest caused their family and her that night.

"It won't happen again, mother." Elijah said assuring her, or himself, which he did not know. "I'll deal with them."

But his words and sincerity seemed to have worked, for the tension left his mother in a silent breath, and she walked over to him, gently placing a hand across his cheeks.

"Thank you, Elijah." Her gaze held an emotion which Elijah could not place, even as a motherly affection overtook her voice. "I wish the others were more like you."

Silence lingered between the two of them as Elijah peered at his mother, doubts about her intentions and the need to believe in his mother's love, tearing within him.

He wanted nothing more than a united family and his dreams finally came through with their resurrection and return. But he could not help the seed of doubt inside of him.

Collecting himself, Elijah gently removed his mother's hand away from his, his thumb brushing across her palm softly before he turned away to leave.

"Elijah." Esther called out to him before he left. "The girl...make sure she is no longer troubled by our family."

Elijah gave a nod of his head to signal that he understood, bumping into Finn as he turned the corner. They exchanged nods before continuing on their way.

Elijah slowly made his way to Jay's room where he had left her after discovering her unconscious form up at the balcony with the human known as Matt.

The blonde boy had been reluctant to hand over a fellow human to him, but did so at Elijah's assurance that she was in good hands.

What he had intended to do with the girl when he tried to step into her life, he wasn't sure himself. He just knew that there was a suspicion inside of him that would not leave when he first heard her singing that night.

And that suspicion was almost cemented when his mother informed him of what she sensed within the girl when he invited her over to their mansion.

He had brought the topic up to the girl, in an attempt to gauge if she had any knowledge but it seems that she was completely clueless as to what songsters and songstresses really were, only knowing what everybody already knows from history.

Had she really been a songstress, Elijah had wanted to ask a favor from her…but he had had days to calmly think things through and perhaps what he had wanted from the girl was not to the best of interest to any of them. Not him, not the girl and not his family.

When she awakens, he will compel her to forget about him and his family, and he will make sure that Kol no longer bothers her.

His wants had been foolish and will lead to nothing more than tragedy for her. And he will properly reflect on his rash actions once he made sure that she was no longer connected to their world.

As he contemplated this, he had arrived at the Jay's room, only to find that she was not in the bed as he left her. His senses allowed him to know that she was not with Rebekah either for the other room was bare of any presence, signaling that his sister was not home.

Elijah frowned, several scenarios of where she could be came to mind. Either she had wandered off on her own, or she was with either Klaus or Kol.

But the former did not paid much interest to the girl, and if Elijah was correct, he had sensed Klaus leaving their premises not too long ago.

That left…

The frown on Elijah's face deepened. He loved his family and he loved his little brother, but sometimes Kol was just too much.

He quickly sped over to where Kol's room was, located in another hall on the other side of the vast mansion, intent on reprimanding his rambunctious younger brother and ensuring the safety of the girl.

But his travels were cut short when a scream pierced the air and his movements in turn was halted as a searing pain lashed through his head.

A soundless gasp of pain left his lips as he fell against the wall, attempting to stand again with its support. But the scream continued and with it the pain inside his head remained, growing ever stronger with each stumble he took towards Kol's room.

Even through his disarrayed senses, he could hear the sounds of pain from his brother, on the other side of the wall.

With a determined surge of strength, Elijah forced himself to flash the last few feet over to Kol's room, shoulders slamming against the door harshly as the wood broke underneath his force.

The screeching in his head multiplied in folds as the door crumbled, as if it was the last remaining barrier against the source of his pain.

His blurred vision took in the scene, trying to make sense of all that is going on.

Jay was screaming, but her eyes were wide open and rolled to the back of her head, leaving nothing but ghostly whites where her soft ebony eyes should have been.

Blood trickled down from the side of her neck where his brother had bitten. Said brother was crouched on the ground before her, hands clamped over his ears as he tried to drown out her screams and pain that was splitting his head apart from within.

As Elijah took one step into the room, he felt an invisible force wash over him, bringing him to his knees as the splitting feeling in his head increased in folds.

'_The girl-!'_

It felt like an eternity when it has only been seconds before her scream finally came to an abrupt stop, and her body fell backwards onto the bed lifelessly.

Gasps of relief left both him and his brother, as they scrambled to readjust their senses and hearing. He could see his brother removing his hands from his ears, red staining his palms from where the blood leaked out of his ears.

Footsteps echoed from behind him, but it sounded like the thundering of an army to him.

"What is going on?!" He could hear his mother's voice, demanding to know of the situation.

He breathed and gasped as he slowly felt his control returning to his body. With a grunt, Elijah pushed himself off the ground, feeling the arms of his brother Finn helping him up.

"Elijah, are you alright?" Worry laced Finn's voice, even as his expression remained relatively calm.

"I'm fine." Elijah breathed out, nodding his head in Kol's direction instead. "Check on Kol."

Finn made his way over to Kol, hand reaching out to help him up as well but Kol shrugged his arm away roughly. "I'm fine." He gritted out, will alone helping him onto his feet.

Esther glanced between all her children, an odd sense of relief washing her when she found them all to be safe, but it was quickly replaced with anger and disappointment once again when her eyes fell onto the unconscious girl on Kol's bed.

"Kol, what did you do?" She demanded, making her way over to her youngest son, eyes firm and angry as his dark eyes met hers. He was weakened, but not weakened enough to wipe the recklessness from him.

"I tried to feed from her, then she bloody screamed my mind out." Kol gritted, eyes turning away from his mother to glare at the girl's unmoving form.

"Have you not learned anything from tonight?! Control yourself!" Esther reprimanded harshly, walking over to the girl to check her pulse. Her hands brushed over the bite marks on her neck, fingers coming away red.

Straightening herself back up, Esther turned to Kol. He is her youngest son now, and she loved him dearly but she could not help the gaping feeling of disappointment and anger at his actions not only tonight, but over the centuries that he has been alive.

He was almost as bad as Niklaus, if not worse.

Elijah approached the three figures of his family, already having recovered from the brief but searing force that had enveloped him. Kol was still recovering, having been nearer to the source far longer than him and it was evident with the flow of blood that still trickled from his ears.

Finn did not seem to be affected, although on his skin lingered a clammy hue.

"What the hell is she?" Kol nearly spat, fury and annoyance doubling within him. First that Salvatore bastard and now _her_!

He was at his limit for the night.

"Finn, take the girl to her room and ensure she will be alright." Esther ordered Finn, voice straining as she controlled her turmoil. A thick silence fell over the room as Finn quietly carried the girl off the bed, his long legs bringing him out of the room with sturdy steps.

Esther kept her gaze on her youngest son, and Kol did the same, dark eyes kept on his mother.

He knew she was angry and disappointed with him. But the events of the night, with all his plans foiled left him with utter humiliation that twisted and changed into fury and the need to lash out.

"Kol, when will you learn to stop being so _reckless_?" She pushed the last words out, words failing her as she tried to find something that will make her son see beyond the centuries of bloodshed and death.

Kol didn't respond, but he looked away from her, choosing to stare with an empty fury into the dark space of his room. The dim yellow light casted a sickly glow in the otherwise black room, staining the deep red floor with a disgusting mixture of red and ochre.

The scent of the girl's blood permeated the air and his bed.

"Answer me." His mother demanded, voice low and calm but he knew better. After what happened with that Matt Donovan and Damon Salvatore, and now Jay, he knew that Esther was at her limits with his behavior.

But he didn't care. Rather, he couldn't care.

What right did she have to suddenly pop back into their lives and start telling them what to do?

She was the one who made them what they are, and then she _bloody died_ and left them on their own for one thousand years.

Her children!

"I was hungry." Kol replied simply, shoulders shrugging nonchalantly.

"You were hungry?" Esther repeated. "You could not have fed from a blood bag instead of a live girl, inside our house, under our care?" Each word left her with effort, as if each word carried the pains and suffering of one thousand years.

Kol chose not to answer again, ignoring her in favor of staring elsewhere and anywhere but his mother. He felt the gaze of Elijah trained on the side of his face, a burning sensation where it rested.

"Kol, look at me."

He did not move.

"Look at me!" She demanded, voice raising a notch before Kol finally amused her demands.

His dark eyes shifted to her and the writhing feeling in him magnified, wanting to just break everything in the room.

Something akin to guilt and pain gleamed in Esther's eyes.

"When will you stop being like this, Kol? It has been centuries-" She began, like a mother educating her young son but her son was no longer young though he remained so.

He was a thousand years old.

"It has been centuries on my own!" Kol cut off her words, gritting back at her. "Whilst Elijah and Rebekah keeled over for Niklaus and Finn lay daggered in his box, I was on my own!"

Esther straightened her back as did Elijah at the words that spewed from Kol. His words seethed with anger, annoyance, suffering, hatred and above all, abandonment.

"I survived this long, like this, on my **own**."

Esther smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes. It wasn't one of mirth or condescension. It was an empty smile of a mother who longs to repent.

"Your own…" She mumbled softly, eyes closing as she took in a large breath of air.

Elijah watched silently at the exchange between his mother and brother, dormant emotions stirring within him at the words that was exchanged between them. He could not help but look down and away, guilt finding its way into his heart at Kol's words.

Perhaps he was on the wrong too.

"Mother, perhaps-" Elijah started, wanting to resolve this peacefully before more damage could be caused between his beloved mother and brother but he stopped short, when his mother trained hardened eyes on her youngest son.

"It is time you learned to care for someone else besides yourself, Kol." His mother trained an admonishing gaze on him, eyes hard and filled with hurt at the person her beloved son had become.

He is her son and what happened to him was ultimately her mistake, a mistake tracing a millennium back into the foggy past of their long lives.

Kol scoffed, and wiped the blood of the unconscious girl, the blood of Jay, off his lips as his dark eyes narrowed, challenging his mother.

"Make me."

With that, he vanished from the room before neither Elijah or Esther could move.

Elijah stood stiffly before his mother, uncertainty tearing at him. Should he go after his brother to make sure he does not commit another act of recklessness? Or should he stay with his mother, who slowly sat down onto Kol's bed, the bloodied sheets sinking underneath her weight?

Elijah finally decided on the latter when his mother heaved a sigh that bespoke of one thousand years of buried emotions.

He kneeled before her, gently taking her hands in his large, calloused ones.

Slowly, she gazed back at him and smiled, hand once more gently touching his cheeks like she had not long ago.

"I wish Kol was more like you." She whispered, eyes looking deep into Elijah's.

"I'll talk some sense into him, mother." Elijah said, eyes glazing as he grasped the hand against his cheeks.

Kol should have been his responsibility.

No, **is** his responsibility.

He was young and alone when they were turned, and Elijah should have done more to seek him out. But instead Elijah followed his brother Niklaus and sister Rebekah around, reuniting with Kol only when Kol himself decided to return to them.

But they never returned to Kol.

"No, Elijah…" His mother gently took his face in her hands, staring deeply at him as she peered into his thoughts and emotions.

"Kol was my responsibility. You all were." The guilt and hurt was now clearly evident in his mother's eyes, and Elijah could not clearly remember the last time when he had seen her like this.

It has been so long.

Elijah watched as his mother dropped her hands back to herself, eyes trailing over the blood stains on her son's bed.

"It is my responsibility to fix."

Esther whispered, and Elijah was not sure whether she was speaking to him or herself.

* * *

**Use the little box below to drop your review! They not only ensure the continuity of this story but also the quality as I always take into consideration the thoughts and opinions of all my readers :3 **

**And the big question of now is whether Finn and Esther remains alive. So review away!**

**Review Response Time:**

**lala- Thank you for your review! It is very much appreciated :3 The story will continue as long as people show an interest in it ^_^ And your questions have been answered through this chapter, I'm sure haha XD **

**ase4ever- Thank you for your review! And as stated, the continuity of the story really relies on the readers hahaha The story is the plant, and the readers are the water XD And thank you! I have gone through some of the other Kol stories around and wanted to try something different that does not make use of being a doppelganger, vampire or being a Gilbert in any way haha and I tried to make it even more different by using a Asian character but it seems that might be biting me in the back a bit :S **

**Lucia- Thank you for your review and feedback! More on Jay's heritage will be brought out in future chapters as well as Kol's thoughts :3 something I do in all my stories is the thoughts of the characters, since I usually write them character-centric. But the first few chapters felt like I was breezing through the story (I get that feeling too as I reread what I wrote) since I wanted that shallow feeling that Jay in relation to the other characters is probably feeling. But the chapters will focus more and more on each character as the story progresses, deepening with the story :3 at least, thats what I hope to achieve haha This chapter was sort of a taste of what future chapters are like...hopefully haha I hope for your feedback again in the future! **

**JollyLoser- Thank you for your review! Yea, I felt the same way :S I feel that Finn can be a really great character if only he had more screen time, and he seems to be a largely ignored character in the fandom :( I hope to correct that and hopefully convert some people into Finn fans haha I'm not a fan of him like I am Kol, but I do appreciate his character enough to want people to like him XD And yes, Damon :) I plan to weave him into the story somehow in later chapters, as there are some things I have planned that I want to happen between him and Jay but I'm still picking out the road that will lead there XD **


	6. Track 6: Esther Mikaelson

**Author's Note: This story isn't doing as well as I hoped it would :( I blame the first three chapters which were absolutely horrid…I guess I was too excited to start this story that I really messed up bad on them. Been going back to them and adding things to certain parts and editing a bit, though I can't do much to it since it has been cemented that way :S So those who are reading this story, you can go back and scroll through the chapters a little if you like, though it isn't necessary haha just shedded a bit more light to some characters and Jay.**

**Maybe I'm too used to getting a lot of reviews for each chapter for my Durarara story Fairyride, which is why I'm getting disheartened at the lack of reviews for this story, as well as favorites and follows. I'm still not sure if I should carry this story to the end, since I suppose there are a few people reading it, but majority does not seem to be interested…Is the writing for this story really that bad? :S **

**I have a lot of views and visitors to each chapter but only a couple followed/ favorite and even fewer reviewed….sigh the only thing keeping me writing this is my need to express my love for Kol through writing (since the drawing bit has been done and finished). *smacks head against wall* Or does the Vampire Diaries community work quite differently from the Durarara one? :S**

**Of course, I'm grateful to all who favorite/followed and especially, those who reviewed :) **

**And still wondering if I should make this a KolXOCXElijah story. **

**But I have decided to keep Esther and Finn alive, since I do really want to explore the Mikaelson family and take a new light on Esther and Finn's character. A lot depictions I have seen of them involves just killing Finn off and Esther the mother who wants to just kill her children.**

**I want to try to explore Esther as a mother who wants to redeem and Finn as the highly ignored and misunderstood brother hahaha**

**Review Response Time!**

**Ase4ever- thank you so much for your review again! And I'm glad you liked that bit about Kol. Since there will be more chapters on that for him, and the rest of the family XD *hugs and cookies***

**Crys- haha thank you for your review! Please do let me know what you have suspected about her so far XD I'll try and keep them in character as much as possible, although I am starting to think that will be highly difficult since we don't know much about most of the characters beyond what they have shown us in the series. I wouldn't know how Kol in love would really act :S but I will give it my best!**

* * *

_~Eastern Sun In The Western Sky~_

_Track 6: Esther Mikaelson_

_~A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step~_

_-Chinese proverb-_

* * *

After having placed the girl in her temporary room, Finn had made his way to his mother's study. He could not help but be worried about her. The actions of both Kol and Rebekah, and especially Kol, tonight had placed a great deal of emotional pressure on her.

Unlike his other siblings, Finn was more insightful and sensitive to the feelings of the woman who brought them to this world and gave her life, toil and blood into taking care of them and ensuring they got to live.

They may call him favorite, Mama's boy or whatever they wished to call, Finn did not care nor mind. He merely wanted to give back to the mother who gave them so much, and if that resulted in him being shunned by his siblings, then so be it.

Finn loved his family. But he could not help sometimes, to love their mother more, because none of his other siblings seemed to take time to give thanks for all that she has done for them. They only remembered the fact that she turned them into vampires.

And though Finn loathed the fact that they had been turned into creatures that required the blood of others to live, he could not say he blamed their mother. She merely wanted to look out for her children, in a time where the slightest cold wind could potentially take your life away.

She merely did what any mother would do: protect her children.

Entering into her study, Finn quietly shut the door behind him.

"Are we alright to speak freely?" He asked, gazing at her from his position by the door.

Esther looked up, slightly out of breath. "Yes. The sage still burns." She nodded at him as she took out a piece of thin white paper, placing it on the table.

Finn made his way over to her side, standing by her and watching as she gazed at the paper before her.

He knew what that paper was for.

It was for the linking spell they had planned.

Unconsciously, Finn's hand tightened against the back of the chair she sat upon.

He did not mind dying if his mother asked him to. And he loathed the abominations that he and his siblings have become.

But was he completely unfazed by the fact that if they went through with the plan, they will be wiping out their entire line of blood and family?

No, he wasn't.

If there was a better way, he would not want to go through with this. He would want to see his family saved from the darkness that has taken hold of them from one thousand years in the past.

"You're not having second thoughts are you?" He asked, looking down at her as she mindlessly fingered the golden pen in her hands.

But he already knew the answer, evident to him from the moment she took the paper out and did nothing with it.

She let out a breath, placing the pen back down on the table. "It's just Elijah…he's so moral." She looked up at him, and then noticed the blood stains that were on the sleeves of his dress shirt. She touched his sleeves, staring at the blood that stained them.

Kol's blood.

Kol.

Her son.

She loved him, as she did all her children.

But they had become such abominations through the centuries. She honestly could not think of another way to cure them of this plague that has taken root right in their very hearts and mind.

The days when they were still simple but happy humans lingered in the back of her mind, and she wished so that they could return to them. Even with her husband's strict and callous ways of handling their children, there were days when they were happy. Where they shared in each other's suffering, each other's joy and pain.

True, she had wanted to bring her family together to bind them in a ritual that will allow her to cleanse the earth of them, but it was also true when she told them that she wanted their family to be united again once more.

Will it be terrible of her if she wanted her family to be whole again?

She didn't know.

Finn rested a hand on her own, and she looked up at the mature brown eyes of one of her noblest son.

Back before the night of the turning, all her children had nobility and kindness in them. Even Niklaus and Kol, who are now so buried in bloodshed and hatred.

Even Rebekah, who has grown into a woman with a sharp tongue, something that was highly frowned upon back in those days. Esther did not find fault with the woman Rebekah turned into however.

Rather, she was very proud of the confidence Rebekah had found.

People change with time.

They had one thousand years to turn into who they are now.

But at that time, her family was tattered and scattered, going through a time of great uncertainty and sadness.

In her heart and mind, Esther wondered if they could change again.

Esther gripped her son's hand, gazing into his eyes as he did hers.

A moment passed between them, a moment where understanding was exchanged.

"Although I do not fully think it is the right thing to do, mother…" Finn began, staring down at their joined hands, a symbol, a testament of what could have been and what could be, "I will respect and support your decision."

Esther smiled, the weight on her mind and heart partially lifted by the words of her son. "Thank you, Finn."

Finn said nothing in response, merely nodded as Esther turned back to the table but this time retrieving a thick white cloth from one of the drawers.

She wrapped the cloth around her fingers that were stained with Jay's blood, applying force as she ran it along the length of her fingers, coming away with just enough dried blood stains on the cloth whilst her fingers burned an angry red.

Once she completed this, she removed a pair of scissors and turned around to grasp Finn's sleeves. Carefully, she cut away the areas of his white dress shirt that were red with the blood of his younger brother.

Finn watched curiously as his mother worked, hardly lamenting the fact that a perfectly nice and new dress shirt was ruined.

"What are you planning?" He asked her, curiosity piqued to the point that he had to voice it.

"Just because I no longer intend to cease the existence of my children, does not mean that I will continue to tolerate their misbehavior." She answered, though remained focus on gathering the materials she needed for the spell she was about to perform.

She will have to apologize to the doppelganger, Elena, later on for her blood has been wasted. And she will have to think of something to control Niklaus and his tirade as well.

But there was something she can do immediately now, and that was to teach Kol a lesson: how to care for others besides himself.

Oh, the narcissist her young son has become.

He had been quite the charmer back in the day, and that has not changed other than his self-involved personality has evolved by 10 centuries.

It is a lesson a millennium late, but late is always better than never.

A part of her felt apologetic towards Jay, for reeling her into this family matter. But after what Esther witnessed tonight, confirming Elijah's suspicions and even her own, Jay will need all the help an original vampire can offer her. Even if he did just try to drain her.

Having mixed the herbs together and scattering them into the spell circle she drew, she lit the candles around the circle before beginning her chant.

Finn walked over to where she now stood, silently watching her perform her magic.

As her chants continued, she took the two pieces of cloth that held the blood of Kol and Jay and bounded them together with a red string before holding it over the flickering flames of the candle.

The cloths burst into roaring flames immediately, and not even black ashes remained as it burned away.

As the burning came to a stop, so did Esther's chants.

Finn's lips tightened and he looked at his mother questioningly. "What did you do?"

Esther glanced at him and smiled, and Finn thought that it was almost coy.

"Teaching my son a lesson."

* * *

Jay gasped, awakening to find herself lying on the cold hard ground. With shaky hands and legs, she pushed herself to a kneeling position, cautiously glancing around.

Everywhere she looked, everything was in shades of black, white and grey; a monotone world. All except for her.

The place was dark and foggy, with cement walls encasing her in a large area. An area which she came to notice with increasing eeriness was akin to a cemetery.

Or more accurately, a very ancient Chinese cemetery.

The walls were built in the traditional architecture of the Chinese with tiled roofs and miniature statues of dragons stood guard at each of the four corners. When she looked closely, it almost felt like the dead eyes of those dragons were watching her.

Standing up, she looked around but saw no one. But Jay did not expect to.

She took a shaky breath that left her in a puff of cold white.

Some part of her knew this was a dream, and another part of her was unsure of what was happening.

Everything was hazy to her and she could not tell reality from dream.

Taking a hesitant step forward, Jay slowly shuffled in a random direction, passing by many graves of stone and wooden plaques with names on them.

The further she walked, the more she noticed the change in style and size of the graves. From where she began, most of the graves were tiny plaques with names scrawled on them and several dishes of offerings in front of them.

It then changed to large stone heads and larger plaques, before finally becoming stone plaques and large tombs. These tombs were built in shapes that were similar to a half moon, and each were decorated and lined with intricate carvings. At the center of each lay a tombstone that is covered with many Chinese writings, most of which Jay could not read. The more elaborate ones had a whole area for people to kneel and offer their respects before the tomb, beveled on the ground.

The longer Jay stayed here, the more creeped out she felt.

Why the hell is she dreaming of Chinese graveyards? She really had issues now.

It was when she noticed something glowing a beautiful gold, behind one of these elaborate tombstones that Jay finally stopped her steps. Instead, she turned towards that source of golden light. The large tombs once again slowly changed to plaques of wood and stone.

Jay felt her skin burst into a cacophony of goosebumps when she finally stood in front of the stone plaque from which the golden light came. The words written across the stone glowed its sickly gold, reminiscent of a dying sun.

On it were words that Jay was very familiar with.

It was her name written in its original Chinese characters.

Something touched her shoulders and she turned around to come face to face with a woman that looked just like her, except that her skin was paler than the moon and her skin was rotting.

A pungent smell invaded Jay's nostrils and when the woman smiled, Jay saw no tongue, only the smell of rotting flesh and maggots surrounded her.

She screamed and screamed, but no sound left her lips. Her voice was gone, and she stumbled back, falling against the tombstone with her name on it that continued to glow.

The woman approached her and Jay screamed at her.

_Go away! Don't come any closer!_

But she could not hear her own voice.

Hands gripped her shoulders tightly, cold hands and her eyes squeezed shut when the woman's face came closer and closer, the never ending darkness within her mouth threatening to swallow Jay whole.

"Jay!"

She finally heard her own screams, but it did not stop. Hands on her shoulders shook her harshly.

"Jay!"

The sound of her name resounded in her ears, like a hard slap that brought her back.

Panting and scrambling for air, her teary eyes focused before her, and the blurry figure cleared and became known to her as Elijah.

She sobbed a dry sob, chest heaving with pain and throat aching.

With a frenzied fling of her arm, Jay slapped Elijah's hands away from her, scrambling to move as far away from him as possible.

His brother tried to kill her!

His brother is a vampire!

It came back to her disarrayed mind that Kol had revealed himself to be a vampire to her that night. Shudders overtook her body as she huddled on the corner of the bed, like a tortured cat cornered by a ravenous dog.

Her eyes were wide with caution and madness, irises shrinking to sharp points that pinned onto Elijah.

If his younger brother is a vampire, then in all likelihood so is Elijah!

Elijah raised his hands in the air to show her that he meant no harm.

With slow steps, he moved backwards away from her in an attempt to calm her down. "It's alright Jay…I will not hurt you. You have my word." He said in a reassuring voice.

She took a greedy gulp of air, choking when her raw throat scratched at her.

"Here." Elijah lifted a glass of water from the dresser, approaching in an attempt to hand it to her but she shook her head fervently. "D-Don't come any closer!" She croaked out with force, wincing when her throat burned her for that favor.

Slowing his steps to a crawl, he lifted his free hand up as a sign of peace while his other hand gently and slowly place the cup on the edge of the bed. Having done that, he paced backwards again, leaving several feet of distance between him and the bed.

"The water will help soothe your throat." He offered gently, eyes alternating between her and the glass, hoping to encourage her in receiving his offering.

Eyes still trained on him, Jay slowly reached a hand out to grab the glass. Once it was within her fingers, she quickly pulled her hand back, as if Elijah would snatch the cup away from her.

She drank all the contents from the cup, eyes never leaving Elijah's form the whole time. A breath of relief left her when it soothed her throat, but it did not take away the scratchy feeling.

Silence ensued between them, one where Jay once again returned to her guarded position and Elijah quietly sat on the armchair that was furthest away from her.

Elijah decided to prod the silent waters first. "Are you alright?"

Jay watched him warily, silently trying to determine his attentions. Was he a vampire as well? Will he try to bite her like Kol did?

She shook her head as his response.

Elijah looked down at the floor, a rueful smile on his lips. "No, I don't suppose you are alright." He mumbled just loud enough for Jay to hear.

He breathed, already dreading the time ahead. The clock on the bedside table glowed the numbers 4:30am in toxic green.

"Let me begin…by apologizing," he paused, eyes glancing up to look at Jay, "for my brother's…misbehavior."

"You mean when he bit me?" Jay whispered back in a voice that cracked and revealed the spiraling confusion and approaching madness within.

Elijah nodded reluctantly. "Yes."

He watched as her shoulders tensed, the action invisible to the human eye but clear as a video played at half of its original speed to his. The subtle shift in muscles and the tightening of the skin as it pulled across, minute hairs standing up on end.

"You have nothing to fear from me, Jay." Elijah assured her once more, hoping the use of her name will hold her down to the reality that is this world. She was starting to spiral, Elijah could see that. Too much have happened to her in one night; Kol and Damon, Kol biting her, her mind lashing scream and that dream he saw in her head.

He had to keep her here, tie her down to this world before she lost it.

He realized he could use compulsion, but a part of him was determined not to. He wished to get her through this as she is, for that was the least she deserved without someone playing with her emotions and rearranging her mind. And it was partly his fault that she was even involved with his family to begin with. So this was the least he owed to her.

She still kept a wary eye on him, but the tension in her shoulders visibly left her.

"…are you one…too?" She asked quietly, voice almost a squeak.

Elijah sighed, knowing that his answer will probably set her off again.

"Yes."

Almost instantly the tension returned and she shifted further away from him, pulling the blankets along with her as if it would keep him away. Elijah did not have the heart to tell her that if he so wished to, he could shred that blanket into thousands of tiny little shreds.

"But I assure you, you will not come to harm with me. I give you my word." He reassured her again. And he will do it as many times as it takes.

This was not the first time he had to clean the mess made by his brothers. But Elijah was responsible for the mess this time too, for he was the one who first dragged her into their world by stupidly making himself known to her.

"How do I know I can…trust you?" Her eyes never left his, wide and round with caution and fear. And also the shimmering of something else. A need.

A need for someone to help her now.

Elijah could not help but lift his lips slightly in appreciation of her wariness. At least she was smart enough to question him like this. Many humans were too eager to jump into their world or back out of it, and in their haste they failed to calmly reflect on actions that would secure their safety.

"You don't." He answered simply. "But I am a man of my word."

Jay stared at Elijah, something in his voice and gaze told her that he was sincere. And if she thought about it, if he wanted to harm her, he would have done it by now, would he not?

She decided to trust him…for now at least.

Elijah's sharp eyes noticed that the tension has completely left her, though caution still lingered in her eyes and nervousness in her heart.

At least he was making progress.

"I assume you have…many questions, regarding the events that transpired in the last few hours." He began, folding his legs and settling into the chair.

He was in for a long night, and a part of him wondered why it was always him that had to tame the cat back into the bag after it has been let out.

He explained to her all about vampires, and the fact that their entire family is one, save for his mother who is a witch and his brother Niklaus, who is a hybrid. He retold the tale of how they were turned and the fact that they are one of the first vampires of the world and what that meant when it comes to abilities.

Compulsion, drinking blood, sunlight, superior physical abilities- everything that pertained to common knowledge of vampires he told her and explained. Things that were not so harmless however, such as the way to kill original vampires, he kept away from her though made it known that vampires were commonly killed with a stake to the heart or ripping it out.

Witches, werewolves, hybrids- everything he deemed important and needed for one venturing into the supernatural world.

As he spoke, the girl started to calm considerably, compared to when she first awoke.

By the time he was done, she was more in awe and amazement that such things could roam the world and still be considered myth, rather than afraid.

But she always kept a cautious eye on him, the nervousness never leaving her. She was now more than aware of the speed a vampire possesses, having experienced it first hand when Kol suddenly appeared before her and proceeded to bite her.

And that was when the elephant in the room was addressed.

"Why did he…bite me?" She asked with unmasked hesitance, obviously not wanting to know the answer but needing to know.

It was here that Elijah sighed softly, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his legs.

"My brother, Kol…he can be a bit of a sociopath at times…" Elijah started, glancing at her, "I can only imagine that he was…frustrated, with the events at the ball, and took it out on you." It did not paint his baby brother in a very favorable light but Elijah could care less. If he had his way, Kol will no longer bother the girl and she will hopefully be able to resume her life as if they were never there in the first place. But already a part of Elijah knew that that was impossible.

For his suspicions has been confirmed that night.

"He was angry so he bit me?" Jay asked incredulously, finally relaxing in the presence of Elijah. "He's got issues." Jay muttered to herself and flushed when she realized Elijah heard her.

Elijah chuckled. "I agree with you. But that is my brother in a nutshell, as your kind so eloquently likes to put it."

Jay smiled a tired smile but did not respond. The events of the night had taken its toll on her and her mind was still trying to wrap around everything that she has learned. Considering the magnitude of what she learned, Jay thought that she was doing quite alright. She imagined most people would have called psychiatric hospitals voluntarily by now, or insisted Elijah went to one himself.

But she had seen and experienced it firsthand. As much as she could not believe it, she had no choice but to believe everything Elijah told her.

Jay was not a believer, until now at least, but this was not the first brush with the supernatural that she had.

Or at least, came into close contact to.

When her uncle had passed, her grandmother had insisted that her cousin and aunt went to the temple and saw a priest about contacting her uncle on the other side, just to 'see how he was doing,' as she put it. Her grandmother is a traditionalist and big believer of ancestral veneration; that it is the duty of living family members to pay respects and look over the well-being of those who have passed on.

Her cousin and aunt had entered an enclosed room with her grandmother, while Jay chose to stay outside. For she did not believe nor did she want to get involved in things of that nature. It gave her chills which she did not particularly enjoy.

But when her cousin emerged from the room crying her heart and eyes out, and her aunt pale and shaken, Jay was forced to accept the fact that perhaps they did see the spirit of her uncle and was successful in contacting him.

She did not see it firsthand, but she did saw the effects. But that was a memory from years ago, and Jay had all but forgotten about it until now.

Her grandmother wasn't as loony as she had thought then. Though she suspected her grandmother hardly had knowledge about vampires and werewolves.

She rubbed her tired and strained eyes, wishing nothing more than to sleep on everything and hopefully feel better when she awakens once more. She just wanted to go back to Whitmore and bury herself in her studies. Kol can have her damned folder. She sure as hell wasn't going to on a date with him to get that folder back, not after his little love bite.

That and the fact that he was a vampire. Him and his whole family which included witches and hybrids.

God, she needed aspirin.

She felt eyes on her and Jay looked to see Elijah peering at her with his dark eyes. It fully made sense to Jay now, why she always got the feeling that Elijah was wise beyond anything she could imagine. He was a whopping thousand years old.

"Elijah?" Jay called out to him.

At the call of his name, Elijah returned from the distant past that he had been gazing into and focused his eyes on Jay.

His lips tightened. There was another elephant in the room that needed to be addressed but it was clear that the girl was already fatigued.

Elijah would prefer to address the issue as quickly as possible and help her overcome it, but so far she has yet to say anything regarding what occurred with her, which made Elijah come to the conclusion that she most likely did not remember it.

His eyes flickered to the clock again_. _

_5:30am_

He stood up, straightening his suit which he has yet to change out of. It also occurred to him now that Jay was still in the dress she wore to the ball.

"It's late, and you need rest. We can continue tomorrow." Elijah offered her a small smile to which she returned. "I will find some clothes for you to change into.

At this, Jay looked down and finally realized that she was still wearing her red cheongsam. Scratching her cheeks, she nodded at Elijah and muttered a soft thanks as he walked out of the room. It wasn't long before he returned with a set of clothing which he handed to her.

"I did not wish to disturb my mother and my sister seems to be absent, so I hope these will do." He told her, watching as she unfolded the clothes to reveal loose black pants and a navy blue shirt. "I apologize about the size, but I hope they will make do."

"No, it's alright." She smiled up at him sincerely, eyes surrounded by grey bags. "Are these yours?"

Elijah gave her the affirmative.

"Thank you, Elijah."

"Considering what my family has put you through, this is nothing." Elijah informed her.

She pulled her upper lip in between her teeth, sucking on them at his words. Elijah heard the sudden shift in her heartbeat, causing him to slowly walk over to her bedside and place a hand on her shoulder.

She tensed beneath his touch but he gave her the look that he had one thousand years to master, that was required of him after each and every mishap of his siblings.

The look of assurance and sincerity.

"You are safe now, Jay. No other harm will come to you."

She nodded her head quietly, not having much of a choice but to believe him, just as she believed his explanations of the supernatural. "Okay."

Straightening up, Elijah opened the door but turned to look at her one more time before leaving.

"Good night."

"Good night Elijah." She mumbled back though her eyes remained on the clothes in her hands.

As the door closed, Jay's shoulders sagged, a lethargic weight on them that drained her of everything. Without bothering to leave the bed, she changed out of her clothes on the bed and into the ones Elijah lent to her.

Dumping her cheongsam onto the floor next to the bed, Jay settled back into the covers, albeit slightly worried.

Will Kol make another attempt on her neck again?

The memory brought her hand back up to her neck, surprised to find that she could not feel any bite marks there and that she had been cleaned of any blood. She supposed she had to thank someone for that. It was likely that whoever gave her vampire blood to heal her had also wiped the blood from her skin.

She shuddered, the memory of Kol baring his fangs at her incessantly filling her thoughts.

But as she inhaled, an earthy scent of patchouli drifted into her, a scent that came from the clothes Elijah lent her.

Unconsciously, the scent calmed her, enveloping her with a sense of safety and the promise that no harm will come her way as she slept and left herself defenseless.

For Elijah gave her his word and though Jay did not know how much she could trust his word, a part of her had already begun to accept the knowledge that he will keep her safe and sane.

Even now, as the woody scent of his clothes embraced her and beckoned her to a dreamless sleep that was no longer invaded by tombstones and women with rotting skin.

* * *

**Review, pretty pleaaase?**

**Elijah is awfully hard to write about :S **

**I kinda like to know what you guys think of my take on the characters (Esther, Finn and Elijah) so far haha Kol, Niklaus and Rebekah will be addressed soon enough as well :)**

**The way I am planning to depict the family is as such:**

**Esther- mother who seeks redemption and salvation for her family, albeit with slightly unorthodox methods**

**Finn- torn between loathing what his family has become and loving his family for who they are. But willing to support and help Esther in trying to redeem their family. **

**Elijah- The usual; noble and moral and protective of the family. Possible love competition to Kol (still contemplating but so far, story has been written in a way where it can go either way). **

**Kol- love interest for Jay. Rambunctious, sociopathic and destructive; like a child who does not get his way. **

**Rebekah- In a sentence…us girls have got to stick together. **

**Niklaus- do not hold much interest in Jay but will be the one that notices the truest things about her. The usual Klaus will be depicted, really. **


	7. Scent of Joss Sticks, Smell of Blood

**Hi everyone!**

**Eastern Sun In The Western Sky will be discontinued here on. It has been overhauled and rewritten in my new story "Scent of Joss Sticks, Smell of Blood."**

**I would like to thank those that has encouraged me to continue this story, and I still carry those encouragements with me, only I have channeled it into writing "Scent of Joss Sticks, Smell of Blood," which I hope will be more of a success than what Eastern Sun In The Western Sky was. I might revisit the initial idea for this story if people enjoyed "Scent of Joss Sticks," and I am no longer doubtful of people's acceptance to an Asian main character and myth haha **

**For those that actually enjoyed Eastern Sun and had wanted it to continue, I apologize for discontinuing it but it technically continues on in "Scent of Joss Sticks" XD Please do go and check it out! **

**Thank you once again, for those that reviewed and encouraged me here! I hope I will have your support still, in Scent of Joss Sticks! All your words of encouragement and advice I have taken and carried it on with my writing there, and I do hope you will move with me towards this new story, which will be my last attempt at a Kol Mikaelson story haha Eastern Sun might be revived again though (once I overhaul it from chapter one again) if Scent of Joss Sticks take off. **

**It had been a short journey, but I hope there will be more to come in Scent of Joss Sticks! I really do appreciate those who reviewed, especially ase4ever who reviewed regularly! *hugs* thank you so much!**

**And thank you to all! I hope to see you in Scent of Joss Sticks, Smell of Blood!**


End file.
